Derby County travel to Oxford United this evening for their second away match in the space of four days.
Derby secured a 1-1 draw against Millwall on Saturday, collecting their first away point of the campaign.
It’s a result that left the Rams 12th in the Championship table, level on points with their opponents Oxford United, who drew against West Brom at the weekend.
For Paul Warne and his players, drawing at the Den would have filled his first-team squad with confidence.
That said, EFL pundit Sam Parkin is predicting Oxford to beat Derby 1-0 and therefore doesn’t think that confidence will translate into another positive result.
Jake Rooney won’t be in the squad for the Oxford trip
Jake Rooney is a promising young defender whose development has stagnated in the last year or so.
The 21-year-old suffered a season-ending ACL injury in the defeat to Bolton Wanderers in September 2023 and didn’t return to training till July 2024.
Rooney outlined his ultimate aim of playing in the Championship but that ambition was soon cut short when he suffered a knee injury during a training camp in Spain.
It left the young defender sidelined for three months, with Rooney returning to action last week, playing 62 minutes for the under-21s in a 3-0 defeat against Aldershot Town in the National League Cup.
Rooney has continued to step up his return to the first team and on Monday, played the full 90 minutes as the under-21s beat Brentford in the Premier League Cup.
With Derby playing against Oxford tonight, this completely rules out his chances of featuring in the squad, however, the former Burnley youngster is close to a first-team comeback.
Rooney is a long-term Sonny Bradley replacement
When Rooney started the first couple of matches of the League One season, he looked set to play a vital role alongside Eiran Cashin and Curtis Nelson.
A long-term injury then prevented him from fulfilling that aim, with Sonny Bradley emerging as a back-up option and Liverpool loanee Nat Phillips.
With Bradley’s contract expiring in 2025 and Phillips set to return to Anfield in the summer, Rooney will perhaps have a chance to cement his place as a third-choice, or even push for a spot in the starting XI.
Bradley just turned 33 in September and his best years are behind him while Rooney is one for the future and can be a long-term replacement for the veteran.
In the early stages of his Rams career, the 2003-born defender showcased his class as a ball-playing centre-back and if he can continue developing into his potential, he could save Warne thousands, or potentially millions in the transfer market.