Eckert "very hopeful" of Scienza return at Deepdale

The Brazilian winger missed the midweek draw at West Brom, with Eckert revealing he was “in quite a lot of pain”, but that the injury is not long term.

Cyle Larin and Caspar Jander also missed the trip to The Hawthorns, and will need to be assessed ahead of Saints’ visit to Deepdale.

“Leo was a very late decision,” Eckert said, speaking after the game at West Brom. “He’s been in quite a lot of pain, so it didn’t make sense today, but I am very hopeful for him to feature for Saturday.

“For Caspar and Cyle we will need to assess.”

Preston have won only one of their 15 Sky Bet Championship matches so far this season, but Eckert is guarding against complacency in Saints’ final game ahead of the November international break.

“I think they’ve actually played quite a few games where they deserved a lot more. They’ve been a good team,” he said of the Lilywhites.

“It doesn’t really show in the results, obviously that’s clear, but I think there is a lot in the team.

“It’s a difficult place to go to. We need to prepare well, recover, make sure that we have a good session on Friday and empty the tank on Saturday as the last game before we go into the break.”