3/1 To Win
Gary Rowett has no fresh injury concerns ahead of Derby County’s 2017/18 Sky Bet Championship opener at Sunderland.
Jason Shackell, George Thorne and Max Lowe are all unavailable for selection having missed the vast majority of pre-season while Darren Bent is out until Christmas time with a hamstring injury.
Forwards Matej Vydra and Nick Blackman, however, returned to full training last week after two weeks out of action with muscle injuries.
Vydra came off the bench to score in the 2-1 friendly defeat to German top flight side Hoffenheim at Pride Park Stadium last weekend, while Blackman was an unused substitute.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Rowett said: “We’ve got players coming back rather than any fresh injuries.
“Vydra came on and scored against Hoffenheim, which was pleasing, but that 20 minutes was the only football he’s had in the last three weeks.
“We just have to assess those types of situations with him and Nick Blackman back in training.”
Shackell, who has been out of action since having a back operation in March, is stepping up his return to fitness.
Rowett revealed: “Jason is doing some training with the Under-23s and also some stuff with the first-team.
“At this moment, it’s light stuff so he is a little bit away, but he is making good progress on the route to getting back to full-time training.
“We can’t rush him. He will have to be exposed to some of the work, and training, that the rest of the squad have done during pre-season before he can be considered for a game.”
Thorne and Lowe are aren’t close to returns to match action just yet.
Midfielder Thorne started pre-season training after missing all of last season after recovering from a broken leg, while full-back Lowe has been troubled with a niggling injury for several months.
Rowett explained: “George is in the process where we are looking at sort of making his progress that bit slower for his own sake; by building it up, when he comes back, he’s in a better place.
“With Max it is still inconclusive. He had an operation in the summer and has also had some injections; we’re just trying to find different ways to get him settled down and go through the same process as the rest of the players.
“We’re not at that point right now. It’s frustrating because he’s a good young player we’d like to get on the pitch and have a look at, but we’ve not been able to do that for the vast majority of our time here so far.”
Rowett admits he now has some tough decisions to make when it comes to naming his side for the game at the Stadium of Light.
He said: “Now, like every other manager this weekend, I have some tough decisions to make on which 18 travel – as there will be some good players left behind.
“It’s the same with the starting XI, there are going to be some good players left out.”
