John Eustace confirms big Derby County boost ft 4 players | OneFootball

John Eustace has provided a positive injury update for Derby County ahead of the international break

Derby County are firmly in the mix for a play-off place in the Championship this season.

The Rams are only in their second year back in the division after gaining promotion from League One in 2024, with the team coming 19th in the previous campaign.

The club avoided relegation to League One by just one point, but heavy investment in the summer has propelled the team into the mix for a top six finish.

A 1-0 victory over Birmingham City last Saturday kept them within three points of the play-offs with just seven fixtures remaining.

John Eustace will be keen for his team to carry this momentum through the March international break, with the team now set for almost a full two weeks without a game.

Derby haven’t earned a top six finish in the Championship since Frank Lampard oversaw a run to the play-off final in 2019.

John Eustace confirms Derby County injury boost

Eustace is hopeful that the likes of Danny Batth, Lars Salvesen, Max Johnston and Sondre Langas will all at the very least be back in training by the time the international break comes to an end.

The Derby boss has claimed that bringing Langas back in particular would be a big boost for the side in their bid to earn promotion to the Premier League.

“Fingers crossed we can get Langas back – that would be a massive boost, Danny Batth as well. Lars, Max Johnston,” said Eustace, via Derbyshire Live.

“So I think at the end of the international break we will have four or five players available to train at least with us.”

Injuries have impacted Derby in recent weeks, but they have remained in contention for a play-off place regardless.

The Rams are down to their third-choice goalkeeper at the moment, with Richard O’Donnell starting in the 1-0 win over Birmingham last weekend.

Both Josh Vickers and Jacob Zetterstrom are both absent, with the former suffering a groin injury and the latter out with illness.

Eustace will be hoping that this quartet are back in action after the break, with Langas absent since January due to a hamstring issue.

A calf problem is keeping Salvesen on the sidelines, with fitness issues plaguing his campaign.

Meanwhile, Batth’s last game came in early February and Johnston has been out of the team since October due to an initial hamstring injury, with a calf problem now keeping him out of the squad.

Next up after the break for Derby is a trip to face league leaders Coventry City on 3 April in an 8pm kick-off.

John Eustace will want all hands on deck for the run-in

Derby are only three points behind sixth place Southampton with only seven games to go, so it is everything to play for once the international break is over.

Games are going to come thick and fast, particularly over the Easter weekend, so Eustace will be keen to have as many options available to him as possible for such important games.

Earning a play-off place would be a great achievement for Derby, and could give them a chance at promotion from the Championship far sooner than a lot of fans might have expected.

But if they are going to be missing important parts of the squad, then it will be tough to overcome the gap to Southampton and Hull City in the coming weeks.