Derby County's Rhian Brewster suffers injury blow - John Eustace has revealed return timeframe | OneFootball

Rhian Brewster was unavailable for Derby County in their 1-0 win over West Brom last weekend

John Eustace has confirmed that Rhian Brewster missed Derby County’s 1-0 win over West Brom this past weekend with a groin injury.

The versatile attacker arrived in the summer transfer window on a free, having departed Sheffield United - five years after his £23.5 million move to Bramall Lane from Liverpool.

His absence from Derby's squad at The Hawthorns on Saturday was notable, even with Eustace’s team earning all three points on their travels.

An 84th-minute strike from Andreas Weimann sealed the victory, which gave Derby their first win of the new season after five attempts.

Brewster was one of eight permanent additions at Pride Park over the summer, with other forwards like Weimann, Patrick Agyemang, Carlton Morris and Ben Brereton Diaz also joining, among others.

Derby County manager John Eustace confirms Rhian Brewster injury

Eustace has confirmed that a groin injury on Thursday ruled Brewster out of the club’s trip to face West Brom.

He is hopeful that the forward will only be out for two or three weeks, but did not put a firm timeline on a recovery, noting it is a big blow to his side.

"Unfortunately, Rhian on Thursday just had a slight tweak to his groin, which was a real blow to us,” Eustace told Derbyshire Live.

"Obviously you saw his performance at Ipswich last week, he was sensational and it gives us a different kind of balance to the team, it allows us to do a couple more things.

"He's going to be a loss unfortunately but it's part of Championship football.

"If it's two or three weeks, then that's brilliant.

“It gave a couple of others the opportunities today."

Brewster struggled for form with Sheffield United prior to his exit in the summer as a free agent, but he scored in just his second league appearance for Derby.

The 25-year-old started in their 2-2 draw against Ipswich on August 30 prior to the international break, and his goal helped secure an important point in Suffolk.

However, Derby were able to seal a victory at West Brom despite his absence, moving up to 19th in the Championship table.

Brewster could be unavailable for upcoming clashes against Preston North End, Wrexham, Charlton Athletic and even potentially Southampton, should Eustace decide to not risk the ex-England youth international.

Rhian Brewster injury is a blow, but Derby County have plenty of options

Soccer Football - UEFA Under 21 Championship Qualifiers - Group G - England v Kosovo - Stadium MK, Milton Keynes, Britain - September 7, 2021 England's Rhian Brewster celebrates scoring their first goal Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers

Brewster has made a promising start to life at Pride Park, and already looks like he could fulfil some of his previous potential at the club if he carries on in that form.

But his absence for a couple of weeks is also one that Eustace should be able to manage, given the wealth of attacking options at his disposal.

Weimann stepped up with the big moment on Saturday, which is an indication that they have goals from plenty of other sources.

As long as he isn’t out for too long, this shouldn’t be too big of a worry for Derby in the long run.

The bigger worry could actually be for Brewster, who will now face at least a few weeks on the sidelines, where one of his rivals for game time could prove themselves as Eustace's preferred choice for the position for the time being.