Derby County centre-back Jake Rooney has teased his nearing return after a lengthy spell out through injury.
Derby County have made some big strides forward since young defender Rooney last featured for the Rams.
The 21-year-old has been out for the long-term after suffering an ACL injury at the start of the 2023/24 campaign. It was hoped that could be a breakout season for the former Burnley youngster, but he’s instead been on the long road back to recovery.
Since then, Paul Warne has led the club back to the Championship, and they’ll be determined to affirm their place in the second-tier with a strong first season back.
As with all ACL injuries, Rooney’s path back to fitness has been long.
Now though, the Derby County man has suggested his comeback is not far away at all. Writing on X, Rooney shared a picture of him out on the grass, teasing his return is a ‘few more weeks’ away.
It’s been over a year since the Liverpool-born defender suffered the injury and last played competitively. He had appeared 21 times for the Rams prior to then, with 12 outings coming in League One and the rest in various cup competitions.
Managing Rooney’s return
There will be excitement among supporters and the squad alike as Rooney closes in on his return to action with Derby County. It’s an arduous journey coming back from an ACL injury, but they can’t afford to get ahead of themselves at such a late stage.
The risk of re-injury will be in the Rams’ mind and as the physical workload steps up in a bid to return to fitness, there’s the chance that other niggles and strains will pop up along the way.
As such, the staff at Pride Park will be managing Rooney’s final recovery stages carefully. Increased work on the grass will hopefully lead to a return to match action, likely with the U21s to start with.
Once that test is passed, Paul Warne can start to think about easing him back into first-team contention.
Competition at centre-back
Rooney had just forced his way into the Derby County starting XI when injury struck and he’ll have an uphill battle to do so again with the club now in the Championship.
The centre-back duo of Eiran Cashin and Curtis Nelson has been favoured with Sonny Bradley also a solid option. Late summer signing Nat Phillips will be confident of breaking into the side though given his pedigree at a high level.
Rooney will be fifth choice once fit again, but Warne won’t shy away from giving him chances if his work in training catches the eye once more.
Time will tell exactly how long it is until he’s back on the pitch, but it might not be much longer.
