STRIKER Rory Fallon has not been ruled out by head coach Paul Mariner of playing for Argyle in their Championship clash with Preston North End at Home Park tomorrow.

Fallon was not expected to return to the UK until late this afternoon, after being away on international duty with New Zealand this week.

But the 25-year-old could yet play some part for the Pilgrims against Preston, according to Mariner.

North End have a strong, physical presence about them, so Fallon could be called upon to counterbalance that.

He was a 55th minute substitute for New Zealand when they were beaten 2-0 by Mexico in a friendly which was played at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena, USA.

Fallon replaced Middlesbrough striker Chris Killen as he made his fourth appearance for the All Whites.

The match, which kicked off at 4am yesterday morning UK time, was watched by a sell-out crowd of 90,526.

Fallon was then faced with the prospect of the long transatlantic return flight from California to London.

Mariner, the former assistant coach of American Major League Soccer side New England Revolution, knows all about how tiring travelling such distances can be.

He said: "Having made that trip myself numerous times, I'm guessing Rory is going to be tired, but you certainly can't rule anything out.

"He's a young lad and pretty resilient, so we will see.

"I would guess he will be eager to play. The thing is, if you are a professional footballer and you are not eager to play then there is something wrong with you.

"Knowing Rory, he will look after himself by drinking a lot of fluids and doing the right things the best he can."

Mariner has several options open to him when it comes to a strike partner for Jamie Mackie, who is Argyle's top scorer on seven goals.

In addition to Fallon, there is USA international Kenny Cooper, Joe Mason and Bradley Wright-Phillips, who scored one of the goals for the reserves in their 2-0 'home' defeat of Forest Green Rovers at Tiverton Town on Tuesday.

Mariner said: "Something to consider is the aerial threat that Preston possess, so we will assess that."

Defender Kari Arnason and midfielder Alan Judge have also been on international duty this week.

Both players were travelling back to Plymouth yesterday and were set to take part in training this morning.

Arnason made his first appearance for Iceland for more than two years when he played in their 0-0 draw away to Cyprus in a friendly in Larnaca on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old was only a late call-up to the squad after an Achilles injury to Portsmouth's Hermann Hreidarsson.

Omar Smarason, of the FA of Iceland, told Herald Sport: "Kari played the full 90 minutes as a central defender and did well."

Arnason now seems set to figure for Iceland in their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, which starts in September.

Judge played all of the match for the Republic of Ireland when they lost 2-1 to Armenia in a European Under-21 Championship qualifier at Tallaght Stadium, Dublin, on Wednesday.

Argyle's on-loan Blackburn Rovers midfielder went close to grabbing a late equaliser for Ireland, who are bottom of their group with four draws and three defeats from their seven games.