Paul Warne has not ruled out a January loan move for Derby County defender Jake Rooney to help him gain regular first-team experience.
Rooney is now playing for the under-21s after recuperating from a knee injury sustained in the summer, which hampered his promotion to the first team.
It was a significant source of anguish for everyone at Pride Park, especially Rooney, who missed almost the whole season owing to an ACL injury incurred in a defeat at Bolton in September of last year.
Warne concedes that Rooney is currently down the pecking order, but adds a loan move in January is possible if the player believes it will benefit him.
“I need to have a conversation with Jake and every option is open to him to discuss with me,” Warne told reporters. “We’ll talk to him and his representative together and see what works best. I feel bad for him because he recovered well from his first injury, but he is clearly low down the pecking order right now.
“What I don’t want is for him to stagnate and regress in the next three or four months. If there is a chance for him to return to the first team and play, I assume that would be his decision.
“But if it is tough and not as quick as he would want, you should look into loans. We’ll talk, but there’s constant monitoring. What you think today is not the same as what you will think next week.
“One day, he might decide that a loan move is best for minutes, and I accept that. However, if we have two or three injuries, he may believe the situation is better. We’ll sit down and have a proper conversation.
