Derby County are set to discover the extent of an injury to one of their first-team players this week, according to reports.
What's the latest injury news at Derby?
Paul Warne currently has Conor Hourihane, Tyreece John-Jules, Joe Ward, Liam Thompson and Jake Rooney out of action on the sidelines, but whilst the boss is missing five of his senior stars, he has recently been handed a boost over another ace set to return.
Max Bird has been absent from the last five games in League One with an ankle injury, but reports have claimed that he is expected to return to training on Monday as he prepares to stage his comeback, but unfortunately, someone else is ready to take his place in the treatment room.
Since joining the club on a season-long loan from Sunderland over the summer, Elliot Embleton has so far made two appearances for the Rams, though it seems like he won’t be making his third anytime soon having sustained a concerning injury at Moor Farm.
On Friday, the attacking midfielder pulled his quad in training which meant he was ruled out of the 2-0 third-tier victory over Carlisle United on Saturday afternoon, and the manager has now delivered an update on the fitness of the 24-year-old.
How long is Elliot Embleton out for?
Speaking to the media over the weekend, Warne confirmed that Embleton will travel for a scan to find out how serious his injury is. As quoted by the Derby Telegraph, he said:
"It is disappointing. We've built Elliot up really slowly, he's done his rehab and we've built his minutes up. He played on Tuesday night, had a recovery day Wednesday, had a light session Thursday, and a light session Friday. He took a set-piece, the fourth corner he had taken, and felt something in his quad so it's hugely disappointing.
"In my career, I've never seen anybody pull anything taking a corner and it was right at the end of the session. You feel for Elliot first and foremost. He's worked really hard to get himself into a position to play and then that happens. He was heartbroken. He will have a scan on Monday and see where we go from there."
How good is Elliot Embleton?
Whilst Embleton has only made two outings for Derby, Warne will know that he is an “aggressive” player, as described by journalist Josh Bunting, therefore, it will be a huge blow for the manager to not have him available for however long he is set to be on the sidelines for.
The Durham-born talent, who earns £5.3k-per-week, has posted 46 contributions (24 goals and 22 assists) in 194 appearances since the start of his career, whilst ranking in the 94th percentile for shots and number of attacking touches in the opposition’s penalty area.
Alongside his ability to pose a threat in the final third, Embleton is also a versatile operator having been deployed in seven different positions since first bursting onto the scene, including everywhere across the midfield and even as a second striker and at centre-forward, so the boss will be hoping that he can return to action as soon as possible.