Paul Warne feels David Ozoh will not be available for Derby County for another two weeks after ruling him out of Sunday’s encounter against Sheffield Wednesday.
Ozoh hasn’t played since suffering a hamstring injury in the win over Cardiff, followed by a quad muscle injury in the final session before his return.
While Ozoh has done some training this week, he has not yet returned to full training. Derby is eagerly awaiting his return following the on-loan Crystal Palace midfielder’s outstanding displays.
But today, head coach Warne claimed the promising youth is making his way back but will not be ready for another two weeks.
When asked about Ozoh’s availability for Sunday, Warne replied, “No, I don’t see it. There’s no chance. He did some running earlier in the week, but he wasn’t really confident.
“While that is the case, you can’t fully bring him into the squad training. Without that, he is not going to be anywhere near match-ready. I don’t foresee him playing in the next couple of weeks, unfortunately.”
Jerry Yates will return for Derby, although the terms of his loan deal from Swansea preclude him from playing in midweek. Jake Rooney, meanwhile, is on the comeback path with the under-21s, but Warne says he is not yet ready to return to the main squad.
“He is playing tonight and he is fit but hasn’t played much in 18 months,” he informed me. “He is close to being completely involved with the first-team squad and ready for selection, but there are a lot of individuals he needs to work through. That is the challenge for him.
