Time is running out for Preston North End man to prove he's worthy of a new contract: View | OneFootball

Ched Evans was something of a regular for Preston North End last season, with the forward featuring 26 times in the Championship for the Lilywhites and netting nine times.

A serious neck injury ruled the forward out from March onwards in the previous campaign, before returning to first-team football in October 2023 in North End’s 1-1 draw with Millwall.

It has been a fruitless return to the starting lineup for the former Fleetwood Town man though - it’s now 15 league appearances and counting without a single goal to his name this season.

It seems as if boss Ryan Lowe sees the 35-year-old as surplus to his plans at Deepdale for the remainder of the season, having not given the forward any playing minutes in the league since a 2-0 defeat to Sunderland on New Year’s Day.

Speaking to the Preston North End official website on his return to action, Evans revealed the seriousness of the injury that affected him last year and rule him out for seven months.

The forward was experiencing blackouts on the pitch as well as losing the feeling in his arms, before being sent to a specialist to diagnose the issue, which turned out to be bigger than just a football related problem.

Evans said: “I knew what the surgeon was going to say because of the symptoms I’d been feeling for a couple of years.

“We went down to London and he asked me when I thought about retiring and I said, ‘When my body gives up’ and he just replied with, ‘I think that’s it now, you’re so close to being paralysed from the neck down.

“I should be thankful everyday that I can walk and play football, and more importantly have a life with my kids because that was a genuine fear for me and my wife that I want to grow up being able to go on a bike ride and play football with my kids. That was the biggest fear.”

Ched Evans contract information

Although he might not have his sights set on retiring just yet, Evans’ form for North End has made his chances of extending his contract in the summer incredibly slim.

The forward signed a deal until end of the 2023/24 season last January - having joined from North West neighbours Fleetwood in 2021 - initially on a loan deal - and looks set to be looking for another new club in a matter of months.

The striker has had prolific spells in League One before in his career, with a 17-goal haul for the Cod Army in 2018/19, as well as finding the back of the net 29 times for a rampant Sheffield United side back in 2011/12.

With Emil Riis, Will Keane and Milton Osmajic all competing for a starting berth, first-team opportunities will only become more limited for Evans as time goes on.

Irish international Keane has been the key striker for the Lancashire-based side this season with 12 league goals to his name, with Riis and Osmajic both netting four times apiece to help their side sit within three points of the Championship playoff spots as we head towards the season's climax.

With time seemingly running out on Evans' time at Deepdale, a drop down a division or two may do the veteran striker the world of good; the goalposts don’t move, and we've seen across his career that he certainly knows where the back of the net is, he just needs to rediscover that confidence in front of goal.