Ledley Glad To Be Back In The Fold

Joe Ledley says he’s delighted to be back in the Derby County fold after a recent spell on the sidelines.

The midfielder returned to the squad earlier this month after six weeks out of action with a back injury.

Ledley, 31, picked up the problem in Derby’s 0-0 draw at Hull City on Boxing Day.

The Wales international has, however, started the Rams’ last two games in the middle of the park alongside Tom Huddlestone, following a brief cameo off the bench in the 3-0 victory against Brentford at the start of February.

Ledley is looking to put his frustrating spell in the treatment room behind him and he’s looking forward to playing his part once again in Derby’s promotion challenge.

Ledley told the media at Friday’s pre-match press conference: “It’s great to be back in the side.

“The Sheffield Wednesday game last week was the first time I had started a match in 2018 after being out injured.

“It’s good to be back playing football again and it’s frustrating when you aren’t able to do that.

“It was a waiting game with my back. I was making good progress but then it went again, so I was out for a bit longer than I thought I would be and it was disappointing.

“All you can do when you’re injured is work hard to get back as soon as you can – so it’s nice to be on the pitch again.”

Derby are back in Sky Bet Championship action this afternoon and will round off February with a trip to Reading (3pm kick-off).

Last season’s beaten play-off finalists have surprisingly found themselves at the wrong end of the table this time around.

Jaap Stam’s side occupy 18th place and are just four points above the relegation zone.

However, Ledley has made it clear Derby are in for a difficult encounter at the Madejski Stadium against a side that were 4-2 winners at Pride Park Stadium back in November.

He said: “The last time we played Reading things didn’t go well for us and we can’t take these types of games for granted.

“Just because Reading are down near the bottom end of the table doesn’t mean we’re going to go there and win. They want the points just as much as we do right now to try and stay safe.

“It will be a difficult game and I think it will be a bit of a battle. Hopefully we can come out on top.”

He added: “Experience can be really important in the next 13 games or so. We have a lot of know-how in the dressing room so it’s key to utilise that and stay strong.”