A “commanding” Derby County player could now miss as many as 14 matches after picking up an injury, following an update from manager Paul Warne.
Derby’s promising start to new season
The Rams returned to the Championship after last season’s promotion from League One, and it was always going to be intriguing to see how Warne’s side would fare back in the second tier of English football.
So far, Derby have fared impressively, winning three of their first five league games this season, including the 1-0 win at home to Cardiff City on Saturday afternoon.
The early signs suggest that the Rams look well-equipped to preserve their Championship status for another season, although supporters may be dreaming big and thinking about a possible promotion push, with Ipswich Town showing that back-to-back promotions can be achieved.
In order for that to happen, Warne will need to be fortunate in the injury department, allowing him to rotate effectively during a relentless season, but a worrying update has emerged regarding one player.
Warne drops worrying Derby injury news
Speaking to The Derby Telegraph, Warne admitted that Derby loanee David Ozoh could be out for up to 14 matches because of a hamstring injury. Warne alluded to Ozoh missing up to 12 weeks of action in a worst-case scenario, which would be until December 7th, with a scan set for Monday and the player “down in the dumps”.
“He (David) is a bit down in the dumps, bless him. I should know this really but I don’t know whether he has had a hamstring injury before. He obviously felt it but we don’t know the severity of it yet. He will go for a scan on Monday and it could be a couple of weeks and a twinge or it could be eight or 12 weeks. We are blessed that we have a good medical team so we will get him back.”
This is a potential massive setback for both Ozoh and Derby, considering the 19-year-old has caught the eye since arriving on loan from Crystal Palace during the summer transfer window.
Prior to the injury blow, the midfielder had started all five of his side’s Championship matches this season, enjoying a highly impressive 95.1% pass completion rate, as well as averaging 3.8 tackles per game, which is consistently more than any other Rams player. Meanwhile, former Derby ace Shaun Barker has shown his appreciation for Ozoh, saying:
“If you gave him another three or four minutes for choosing the player of the match he might have got it. He was that good in the last 5-10 minutes, he seemed to be more commanding, making more tackles didn’t lose the ball, drove forward got his goal. So another player that seemed to grow in confidence and his performance went up another level in the last ten 15 minutes. So, delighted for him,19 years old, only a few starts and what a player he is going to be for Derby this year.”
Hopefully, Warne’s worst-case scenario of 12 weeks doesn’t happen, and Ozoh will be back far sooner than that, with his influence in the opening weeks of the season showing how important he is going to be for Derby this season.
Should that be the case, there are some huge matches that he will be unavailable for, including trips to Sunderland and Leeds United, although the latter is on December 7, at which point he will hopefully be back.
