Miles Addison is under no pressure to rush back to full fitness after going under the knife last month.

The England U21 defender flew to America to undergo surgery on the troublesome foot problem which has blighted his season.

Addison is back in the UK and working on his rehabilitation programme, but is expected to be out of action for a considerable amount of time.

Manager Nigel Clough has revealed that he and his staff are working on the basis that Addison will not feature at all for Derby next season.

That way, there is no pressure on Addison to rush himself back into action.

He said: "Miles is back in the UK and everything with the operation was a success.

"He is now on the long road to recovery working in the gym and maintaining any sort of fitness he can.

"We have pretty much written him off for next season, and if he does come back early it would be March or April time.

"The fact he is out for a while is a small price to pay for Miles if he can play injury-free for the next ten years.

"He is a determined character and he is fully focused on doing his rehab properly.

"There is no pressure on him to get back next season; we don't have a set target for him.

"If he comes back next season then lovely, but if not then we're telling him not to worry."

Addison has been restricted to just sixteen appearances this season as a result of the injury.