John Eustace slams 'ridiculous' Derby County player situation | OneFootball

Jacob Widell Zetterstrom has been out with illness for a few weeks, and John Eustace has spoken out on the situation.

Derby County have the opportunity to strengthen their grip on the Championship play-offs on Saturday afternoon as they make the trip to Vicarage Road to face Watford, another side looking to make inroads into the top six.

The two teams did battle in November at Pride Park, with the Hornets coming back from 2-0 down to win 3-2, denying the Rams the chance to make it six wins in a row at that time, as well as stopping them in their hunt for sixth position in the league.

Nevertheless, this weekend is one that John Eustace will be looking forward to, with the East Midlands outfit's away form one of the best in the entire division, and they can make it four victories in a row on the road with a victory in Hertfordshire.

However, Derby will once again be without a certain key player who had been a vital cog in the machine in DE24 before missing out in the last few weeks, and now his head coach has issued an update on his fitness as well as quashing some uncertainty around his future.

John Eustace reveals Derby County fitness update and quashes rumours

Jacob Widell Zetterstrom has played just once since the Rams beat Preston North End 1-0 on 17 January, with the Swedish shot-stopper suffering from complications of a virus and his return has been delayed a couple of times already.

He featured against West Bromwich Albion in late January, but Josh Vickers has taken on responsibility between the posts in the last few weeks and now Eustace has explained the situation with Derby's number one.

He said (via: BBC Radio Derby): "Jacob is still struggling with his virus. I know there's been lots of people thinking there's been other things going on which is ridiculous.

"He has been a really important part of the squad, but Josh (Vickers) has stepped up. Unfortunately, with Jacob's virus, it has just caused other issues from a contact point of view, which isn't allowing him to fully train properly.

"But he's making good progress and, I'm really looking forward to seeing when he'll be back in and, and pushing for that number one spot again. He is on the grass, he has done some training, but won't be available to compete yet in a competitive game."

Derby County have a really strong goalkeeping unit this season

While Zetterstrom's injury is frustrating, those further down the pecking order at Derby have stepped up this season and taken on responsibility when the Sweden international has been forced out.

Vickers is the second-choice for Eustace, and he kept his first clean sheet of the campaign against Swansea City last weekend, and will be hoping to make it two in two against Watford on Saturday.

Meanwhile, third-choice goalkeeper, Richard O'Donnell, has been vital when his teammates were suffering from illness and injury last month. He kept a clean sheet against Bristol City in a 5-0 win, and also filled in at short-notice against Charlton Athletic prior to that.

Having a strong cohort of 'keepers is vital to any side, and Derby are just proof of that. However, they would love to have Zetterstrom back with the gloves as soon as possible.