Derby County Injury Blow: Key Man in Race Against Time to Face Portsmouth – ‘It’ll Be Close

Derby County Injury Blow: Key Man in Race Against Time to Face Portsmouth – ‘It’ll Be Close

Derby County left-back Callum Elder ‘faces a battle’ to be fit for this weekend, as detailed in a report by DerbyshireLive.

Derby County’s defender picked up a knock in their recent clash against Preston North End. He has since sat out of DCFC’s last two games against Swansea City and Burnley.

Elder, 30, is under contract at Pride Park until the summer of 2026. He has made 30 appearances in all competitions this season, 29 of which have come in the Championship.

As per DerbyshireLive, it remains to be seen whether he will be available to play again on Saturday. The Rams are back in action with an away trip to Fratton Park to face Portsmouth.

John Eustace’s side remain embroiled in a relegation scrap following their 0-0 draw with Burnley last time out. They are sat in 21st place in the table and are above the drop zone on goal difference with five fixtures left to play.

Derby County injury latest regarding Callum Elder

Getting Elder back would be a boost for Derby County and he gives them another option to pick from in defence.

He also injects experience into their squad as they look to avoid an immediate relegation back to League One.

The Australia international, who has made one cap for his country, joined the Rams under former boss Paul Warne and helped them win promotion from the third tier last year along with Portsmouth and Oxford United.

Elder moved over to England as a youngster in 2011 and rose up through the academy ranks at Leicester City. He never played for the Foxes’ first-team though and was loaned out to Mansfield Town, Peterborough United, Brentford, Barnsley, Wigan Athletic and Ipswich Town to get some experience under his belt.

The Sydney-born man then spent four years at Hull City after joining the Tigers on a permanent basis and he made 137 outings for the East Yorkshire outfit, finding the net once.

What next for Derby County?

Derby County have seen an upturn in form since Eustace was brought in to replace Warne. He left Blackburn Rovers to take over and has done a decent job so far.

The Rams still have work to do though and their match against Portsmouth is a significant one as they look to build more of a gap between them and the bottom three. Their upcoming opponents lost 1-0 at Coventry City last time out.

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