‘An Unbelievable Feeling To Be Back’

Charles Vernam was unable to hide his delight at making his long-awaited comeback from injury as Derby County lifted the Steve Bloomer Trophy on Tuesday evening.

The 20-year-old forward came off the bench to feature in the second half of Derby’s 2-1 victory against third tier Spanish side Real Union at the Estadio Gal.

It was the first-ever meeting between the clubs, who both have the name Steve Bloomer deeply-engrained in their history, with the Rams’ young side made up of members from the club’s Under-23 squad.

Goals from Alex Cover and Lewis Walker saw the Rams come out on top, whilst Vernam’s return to action provided an extra reason to celebrate.

The frontman suffered a chondral defect in his knee back in April whilst on loan at Coventry City and he was told he would be out of action for between six and nine months.

It proved to be a real setback for the youngster, who made his first-team debut for Derby in the Emirates FA Cup third round victory over West Bromwich Albion back in January and also put pen-to-paper on a new contract.

Sheer dedication in his rehabilitation work has seen him return in the shortest possible timeframe - and the Academy graduate was keen to pay tribute to those that have helped him on the road to recovery.

He told RamsTV: “It was an unbelievable feeling to be back on the pitch and probably one of the best that I have had in football.

“I was a bit nervous at first but you soon forget about it and it all becomes natural again.

“I have a lot of people to thank for getting me to this point in such a quick period of time. The medical team at Derby is unbelievable and they’ve stuck by me over the last six months.

“We worked over the summer when no-one else was around and we got through a lot of work.

“The strength and conditioning team have been great as well and without them I wouldn’t be back on the pitch right now.

“It has been tough but everyone around me has kept me motivated and made it easier than it could have been.”

He added: “All the staff have been great and my family and friends have kept me on track and positive.

“It was great to be on the pitch and win the Steve Bloomer Trophy; it’s positive for the team and the club.”

Reflecting on the trip itself, Vernam has described the visit to Spain and the club’s developing relationship with Real Union as a positive experience.

He was also keen to thank the Rams’ opponents for their hospitality since arriving in the country on Sunday.

He said: “It has been a really good experience coming out to Spain. We’ve had a good couple of days and prepared right to play and win the game.

“Everyone has been fantastic out here; the hospitality has been brilliant and Real Union have been great – we look forward to seeing them again in the future.

“The coaching staff put on great trips and we have to thank them for that as well. We have bonded as a team, we saw that tonight when we needed to dig in, and that came from good organisation on the trip itself.”

Vernam says it is important to celebrate winning any trophy as a player and he added: “Any trophy that you win as a player, you have to celebrate it. We made sure we enjoyed it.

“We love lifting trophies and it was great to do that tonight, it capped off getting to this stage over the last six months.”