Cunningham was made captain by Alex Neil in the absence of Tom Clarke who is out until the start of 2018 through his own injury problems. The left back now appears to be out for a lengthy period himself due to a knee injury.
It has been unfortunate for Cunningham who broke his leg at the end of last season returning for pre-season training. He suffered an injury at Derby on Tuesday and hobbled off. He had also just been called upto the Irish squad.
At first it was thought that the injury was minor but the club have said that he is out for a prolonged period after surgery. The unofficial version is that it is unlikely that Cunningham will play again before Christmas.
It will be a big blow for Neil who is already without the injured Clarke and will now have to rely upon an inexperienced, youthful backline. North End were looking to bolster their defence anyway and this injury has made it a priority to get more defensive cover in before the deadline.