Rooney Discusses Lawrence, Davies And Ibe Ahead Of Swansea Clash

Wayne Rooney says Tom Lawrence will have his fitness assessed closely ahead of Wednesday evening’s Sky Bet Championship fixture at home to Swansea City (5:30pm kick-off).

The Wales international forward sustained an ankle injury in the early stages of Saturday’s 0-0 draw at home to Stoke City and was replaced just after the half-hour mark.

Rooney, who is currently leading Derby’s coaching team while the Rams wait to appoint a permanent successor to Phillip Cocu, is hopeful the 26-year-old will be fit to face the Swans.

Lawrence looked sharp in the early stages of the game against Stoke and saw a long-range strike tipped over the crossbar by visiting goalkeeper Josef Bursik before his afternoon was cut short.

Providing an update on Derby’s squad ahead of the fixture against Swansea, Rooney told RamsTV: “Tom has got a small niggle on his ankle and we will see how he is tomorrow and if he’s available.

“It’s nothing serious so we will see how Tom is over the next day or so as to if he can face Swansea.”

Rooney has confirmed that Curtis Davies will see a specialist this week on his Achilles injury.

The defender was injured in the second period of last Wednesday’s goalless draw at Brentford and underwent a scan at the end of last week.

Once the centre-back has visited the specialist, the Rams will have a clearer idea of how long he will be out of action for.

Rooney said: “Curtis is seeing a specialist this week and then obviously after he has spoken to them to see what’s needed then we will have a clearer indication of how long he will be out for.

“As soon as we get that we will let everyone know and for us it is a big loss with his experience and his leadership in the team, so we just hope he gets back to full fitness as soon as possible really.”

Rooney handed Jordon Ibe a first appearance of the season against Stoke at the weekend. The wideman replaced Kamil Jozwiak for the final few minutes of the match against the Potters at Pride Park Stadium to make his first competitive appearance in over a year.

Ibe, who joined Derby as a free agent in September after leaving AFC Bournemouth, has been building up his fitness in training and has been named on the bench for the side’s last three matches after recovering from an illness.

The 25-year-old is set to feature for Derby’s Under-23s against Brighton & Hove Albion on Monday night to get more match minutes under his belt.

Rooney says it is important to increase his sharpness in order to be in the best possible place to make an impact on the pitch.

Rooney said: “Jordon has trained a lot better in the last couple of weeks. His fitness is getting better, but he needs minutes on the pitch too.

“He’s been around the squad for the last three games, he’s been on the bench and on Saturday there wasn’t long left when he came on. I was hoping for a bit of magic with what he can do with the ball, but it was also important for himself to be back on the pitch.

“He knows he is close. He is getting closer so it’s important now that we try and get the minutes in to him and try and progress his minutes further in the upcoming games.”