Gary Rowett has said that Joe Ledley is a ‘big doubt’ to return to action on Friday evening when Derby County travel to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United in the Emirates FA Cup.
After a surge up the Sky Bet Championship table, the Rams switch their attention to the Cup and a trip to the Theatre of Dreams to face Jose Mourinho’s men, kick-off: 8pm.
Ahead of the game, Rowett, 43, admitted that he has two injury doubts.
Ledley (back) is one of them, whilst former United man Tom Lawrence continues to struggle with a hip problem that kept him out of Derby’s New Year’s Day stalemate with Sheffield United.
On the pair, Rowett told RamsTV: “Joe tried to do some work yesterday and was a little bit stiff with his back.
“We would say that Joe is probably a big doubt. Tom Lawrence was hopeful that he would be able to train over the next couple of days, but he is a doubt.
“There are one or two others too – Bradley Johnson was a bit sore from Monday – but Joe and Tom are the only real doubts for the game.
“Both missed Monday’s match with Sheffield United, so with that, I think we will travel with a similar squad once again.”
That aside, Rowett is likely to make a couple of alterations to his starting line-up in a bid to keep it as fresh as possible and give players ‘desperate for an opportunity’ the chance to impress.
Whoever is given the nod, the challenge is simple – go and play with no fear against the 12-time winners of the FA Cup!
“It would be silly not to freshen up one or two positions – I’m not saying we’re in a position to change the whole squad – so we will make some subtle alterations,” Rowett said.
“We have got a big squad, with lots of players who are desperate for opportunities. There’s one of two ways we can approach it.
“We can go very defensive minded and hope you can hang on or you can go with a positive mindset and not be too fearful about the result.
“Momentum doesn’t really count with this one. If we were to lose, I don’t think that would be a blip on our recent form.
“Maybe that allows us to do something different and come up with a plan that will give us a bit of a fighting chance.”
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