Sat 10 Jan - Posted in Breaking News
Time to read: 3mins
Derby County club captain Lewis Travis is ‘buzzing’ to back on the pitch.
After missing 12 weeks at the end of 2025 with a calf injury, the 28-year-old made his comeback with appearances off the bench against Leicester City and Wrexham in the days either side of New Year.
Now pushing for his first start since the beginning of October, Travis is raring to go ahead of the visit of Premier League side Leeds United for the Emirates FA Cup Third Round tie this weekend (12pm kick-off).
The combative central midfielder has enjoyed impressive runs in the FA Cup previously, guiding Blackburn Rovers to the quarter-final stages as captain during the 2022/23 campaign.
Ahead of Sunday’s clash at Pride Park Stadium, he told RamsTV just how excited he is to be playing for the Rams again.
I'm absolutely buzzing to be back. I've always been one to hate being injured, so I'm really happy to get back out there with the team.
When you go to a new club, you want to show the fans what you can do. You want to give a good account of yourself, and I probably didn't give the best account of myself in those six games.
It was frustrating, but I'm happy to be back now and eager to crack on.
I think it's a little bit more tough when you’re injured, but I try to be there at every game - home and away - to try and get the boys going and keep up the standards around the building. We've got loads of leaders in the group that do that on the training field as well.
When I've trained, my mindset has been focussed on driving standards, because I feel like the game comes naturally if you're giving 100 per cent and you're doing the right things in training.
With the games, I think it’s more making sure everyone knows how important the three points are on a Saturday.
It's a very good group, a really tight-knit one. Everyone gets on with each other, and even outside of the building, the lads go out and socialise together.
I think there were 13 new players arriving in the summer. Sometimes, I think that's hard to make everyone gel, but everyone gets on and everyone's striving to do their best. I think there's a clear willingness to do well.
I've had a good few runs over my career in the FA Cup; I think it's a really good competition.
I remember getting to the quarter-finals with Blackburn. We got beaten late against Sheffield United, but that was a really good experience and I think our group can go really far here.
The game against Leeds is absolutely massive. If we can go and get through, it would be amazing. Also, for the lads who haven’t had loads of minutes, it's a chance to go and show the gaffer what they’re about.
