Derby County defenders Callum Elder and Joe Ward both played 60 minutes in a behind-closed-doors friendly for the under-21s on Tuesday.
Both players are near the end of their recoveries from injury, with Elder suffering from a hernia that required surgery, whilst ward was out with a knee injury.
The Rams duo have been back in training in recent weeks, using the international break to their advantage.
Derby duo back for under-21s
Derby County assistant manager Richie Barker told the Derby Telegraph that they would rather be patient with their recovery, rather than try and rush the pair back for the first team.
“We had a big discussion about integrating them back in and obviously they train with us every day,” Barker said.
“Do we try to get them involved against Exeter or was it more beneficial for them long-term to play 60 minutes.
“We decided on the latter. Joe has been out quite a while, Callum hasn’t missed many games but we decided that we are probably going to need those players in the next 10 days. Fair play, they came straight from the under-21s to the game last night. They came in the dressing room but those minutes they got were vital.”
Will be tough for duo to break into team
Having Elder and Ward back will be a bonus for manager Paul Warne and getting an hour’s worth of game time under their belts will certainly help.
Unfortunately for those two though, the ful back positions seem to be pretty solid at the moment, with Craig Forsyth and Ryan Nyambe playing very well recently at left back and right back respectively.
It will be a tough task for those two to break into the Rams squad with those two in goof form, but they will look to force themselves in to Warne’s plans