Eustace confirms double Derby County injury blow ahead of West Ham game | OneFootball

Derby County boss John Eustace has confirmed Craig Forsyth is facing several months on the sidelines with a knee injury.

Forsyth underwent a scan after being forced off and will see a specialist on Friday, with Eustace admitting the initial diagnosis “doesn’t look good”.

“He’s in a bit of a bad way. He’s had a scan on his knee. It doesn’t look good,” Eustace said.

“He’s seeing a specialist tomorrow, so hopefully it won’t be season-ending, but it’s going to be a few months for him.”

Forsyth was praised for his performance in Tuesday night’s victory over Portsmouth, with Eustace highlighting the veteran defender’s importance to the club.

“I thought his performance on Tuesday was magnificent, and it really typified what he’s all about, what the football club’s all about,” he added.

“He’s very loyal to this football club, and when he’s asked to put that shirt on, he never lets you down.

“For the good times and the bad times, Fozz has always been here and come through it, and I thought Tuesday night, after a couple of not-so-good results, he rolled his sleeves up and led by example.

“Now we’re going to lose him for a while. It’s a blow.”

Eustace also confirmed midfielder Lewis Travis will be unavailable for around three to four weeks, although the injury is not as serious as initially feared.

“Trav is going to be missing for probably three or four weeks as well,” he said.

“Obviously, it’s not as bad as what we all feared, which is great news.

“Again, it’s really important over the course of this 46-game season that we keep as many of our good players as possible fit.

“Everyone’s going to be used throughout the season, so we don’t want long-term injuries to anyone, and everyone will be needed for sure.”

Derby will also be without Carlton Morris, Matt Clarke, Derry Murkin and Patrick Agyemang for the clash with West Ham on Saturday.