Derby County striker Conor Washington has been ruled out of this weekend’s League One clash vs Bristol Rovers.
Derby County host Bristol Rovers in League One this weekend, with the Rams looking to leapfrog 6th place Barnsley with a win.
Paul Warne‘s side are in 7th as things stand; level on points with Barnsley and also level with Blackpool in 8th, having gone into this month’s international break on the back of successive wins in League One.
Derby were last in action vs Crewe Alexandra in the FA Cup earlier in the month, with a 3-1 defeat at Pride Park throwing them out of the competition.
And the international break has brought another bit of bad news with Washington returning with an ankle injury.
What’s been said?
DerbyshireLive are reporting that the Rams are now waiting on the results of a scan after Washington sustained an ankle injury during international duty with Northern Ireland this month.
The same report adds that the 31-year-old is currently on crutches, but that an X-ray has already shown that Washington hasn’t broken anything, suggesting that it could be ligament damage instead.
So far this season, Washington has scored three and assisted two more in 14 League One outings for Derby County.
And ahead of this weekend, Warne revealed that trio Tyrese Fornah, Ryan Nyambe, and Darren Robinson have returned to training, whilst Tyreece John-Jules and Liam Thompson remain sidelined.
Who will step up for Derby County?
Washington’s absence is a blow. Not only is he a player who can score and create, but he’s also a real physical presence; someone who will run at defenders and not let them rest.
Replacing that kind of physicality will be the tricky part and Derby may have to do without that kind of outlet until Washington is back; one player who could give Warne food for thought though is Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, who could return this weekend.
But Warne still has players in his side who are capable of scoring goals, in the likes of James Collins Martyn Waghorn.
Bristol Rovers is another tricky test for the Rams as well. The Gas are still under the interim guidance of Andy Mangan but they’re performing well, coming into this game unbeaten in six and just four points behind Derby.
It’s all to play for for both teams with Mangan surely desperate to further state his case for the permanent job at Bristol Rovers.
Though given the quality in this current Rams side, Warne will still be expected to claim all three points, with or without key attacker Washington in his side.
The game kicks off at 3pm tomorrow afternoon at Pride Park.