The 10 players set to miss Exeter City v Plymouth Argyle - Caleb Watts features | OneFootball

These players are set to miss out on Thursday's Devon derby

The 115th Devon derby takes place on Thursday, as Exeter City welcome Plymouth Argyle to St James' Park.

This is only the second time since the 2019/20 campaign that the two sides have been in the same division. Given that Plymouth did the double over Exeter en route to winning League One in 2023, and have spent the last couple of years in the Championship, the Grecians are eager to get one over their rivals now they're at the same level again.

Anticipation was always high for this fixture, but given the two sides' almost identical starts to the campaign, which sees them both teetering above the bottom four on 13 points, either side will feel that they can come out of Thursday's clash with three points.

Both Exeter and Plymouth are navigating various injuries as we delve further into the autumn period of the season, and these players will not be available to partake in the derby battle under the lights at St James' Park.

Gary Caldwell's side came out of their 1-0 defeat at Stockport County with no new knocks or bruises to report. However, Johnly Yfeko, who had made consecutive League One starts for the first time in over a year in the prior two games, missed out through injury.

The former Rangers man had missed almost a year of action with hamstring injuries, and Exeter fans will be hoping that the Stockport absence was just a precaution so he'd be available for Thursday's derby.

However, we do know that attacking duo Sonny Cox and Carlos Mendes Gomes will be absent for the visit of Plymouth.

Cox was ruled out for two months after suffering a groin injury last month against Stevenage, whilst Bolton Wanderers loanee Gomes faces even longer on the sidelines, after picking up an abductor muscle injury, which will see him out until Christmas.

Aston Villa loanee Sil Swinkles hasn't featured since mid-August due to a knee injury, and it is expected that he'll miss a tenth consecutive League One game on Thursday. And Stockport loanee Ryan Rydel will likely miss an eighth straight league outing, too, as he looks to get back to fitness after struggling with knee injuries throughout his career.

Finally, Jake Doyle-Hayes could be a doubt, as he's currently on a three-game run out of the team. Gary Caldwell said at the end of September that he was struggling to train, but no timeline was put on his recovery.

The 26-year-old has had a torrid time with injuries lately, to the point where he sued his former club, Hibernian, over ankle injuries sustained in a tackle with manager Lee Johnson. He played just six times in his final two years at the club, but is seemingly finding his fitness again, playing in nine of the first 10 League One games before his current absence.

Plymouth's injury news is a lot more black and white ahead of Thursday's derby.

Former Grecian Caleb Watts won't be able to make his return to St James' Park, and he won't be seen until 2026 following a hamstring injury picked up last month.

Wideman Xavier Amaechi still has around five or six weeks to go until he is fit to return to the side, as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury as well, which he picked up in August.

And the defensive duo of Julio Pleguezuelo and Jack Mackenzie are still awaiting their first appearances of the season, with the latter still yet to make his debut after arriving from Aberdeen in the summer.

Spanish centre-back Pleguezuelo was injured in Plymouth's final pre-season game against Bristol City, and has yet to return after undergoing knee surgery, whilst Mackenzie suffered from tendonitis in his knee during pre-season and then was sidelined with shin splints last month.

In brighter news, Tom Cleverley may be able to welcome back Kornel Szucs this Thursday, after the Hungarian missed the last five games with a knee injury. The centre-back was back in training ahead of their recent defeat to AFC Wimbledon, but didn't feature in the matchday squad. After another week of sessions, he may be available to play a part in the Devon derby.