Derby County could be without four first-team players for their League One clash against Burton Albion on Monday night.
After crashing out of the EFL Trophy against Bradford City on Tuesday night, Paul Warne’s side can resume their assault towards the automatic promotion places in League One.
Derby are in the midst of a sensational run of form.
In their last 10 matches, they top the leagues standings with an impressive eight wins and one draw while their only defeat in that time came against third place Peterborough United.
The Rams have been helped during this run by the brilliance of Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, who has scored six and assisted four goals in his last 13 matches in the league.
Striker James Collins has also helped Warne’s side edge closer to the division’s top two. Derby’s top scorer with 11 has plundered six goals and one assist in his previous 10 appearances.
What’s more impressive about this purple patch is the fact that Derby has done it without some of their key first-team players.
Here is an update on which players are likely to miss Monday’s match against Burton Albion…
Derby without four players against Burton Albion
Veteran left-back Craig Forsyth is one player who will indefinitely miss the match against the Brewers with Callum Elder continuing his run in the side.
The Scot is nursing a calf problem that caused him to miss Tuesday’s defeat to Bradford.
Despite playing in the first-half against Fleetwood Town, he was substituted at half-time having felt his muscle go tight in the game. Warne has now confirmed he is going to be out for the “foreseeable” following a scan.
Derby also have a huge problem at right-back. Ryan Nyambe is away at AFCON with Namibia while Joe Ward and Kane Wilson are fighting for their fitness.
Warne doesn’t expect Ward to be out for long, but the former Peterborough United man isn’t likely to be fit in time for the match against Burton.
Wilson, on the other hand, picked up a problem with his hip in Tuesday’s loss and will be a big miss to Derby if he doesn’t make it back in time.
The Rams are also light on options up front with Martyn Waghorn and Conor Washington both sidelined.
While Waghorn is out for the “foreseeable” following a setback in his rehabiliation, Washington has had surgery on his ankle injury and expected to be back next month.
For defender Jake Rooney, however, no time scale has been put on his return. The 20-year-old has been out since picking up an ACL injury in the defeat, ironically, against Burton.