John Eustace handed big boost ahead of Sheffield United | OneFootball

Derby County receive big defensive boost as Owen Back returns to full training ahead of Sheffield United fixture

Derby County have been handed a huge defensive boost as a new summer signing makes a return to full training ahead of their trip to Sheffield United.

For Derby County, it's very much been a below-par start to the season by their expectations, especially with the likes of Carlton Morris and Bobby Clark coming in the door in the summer, but they look to be finding their feet a dozen games into the campaign.

However, after going six games without a win in the league, the Rams have got back to winning ways and pieced together back-to-back wins against Norwich and QPR, and could well extend that to three with a trip to Sheffield United on the horizon. With Derby currently sitting in 17th place, 5 points off the drop zone, as well as the play-off places, it's all to play for in the early stages of the season.

The Rams have had their setbacks this season, with injury concerns being a major concern for manager John Eustace, who has navigated his way through constant dilemmas. The reintroduction of Sondre Langas in a starting role didn't go unnoticed against QPR, and Eustace could well be in line to receive further reinforcements as their Liverpool loanee Owen Beck has returned to full training in time for their clash against the Blades.

Derby County defender Owen Beck may be involved to face Sheffield United at the weekend

For 23-year-old Owen Beck, it's been far from the ideal start to his Derby County career after signing for the Rams on a season-long loan from Premier League giants Liverpool.

The Welsh youth international is yet to make his debut for his new club, having picked up a hamstring injury in pre-season that has kept him out for a lengthy period of time. However, with the defender now back out on the grass in a full capacity, Eustace will for sure benefit from his services as highlighted when on loan with Blackburn Rovers last season.

Beck made 24 league appearances for Rovers in the 2024/25 season where he scored one goal and was best known for his energetic nature up and down the touchline. With the defender back with the group and successfully completing his rehab, he may be thrown into the deep end against the Blades with question marks over Max Johnston now being raised, as he was dragged off in the latter stages of their win against QPR due to injury.

The Scotland international was forced off and replaced by their backup right-back Ryan Nyambe after pulling his hamstring. It would make sense that if Johnston were to miss out against Sheffield United, then Nyambe would be the natural replacement due to the reliability he has of being fully fit. Whereas, rushing Beck into the fray may be seen as a risk which could backfire on Eustace.

Owen Beck's return hands John Eustace a near fully fit defence

With Beck soon to be back in action for the Rams and getting his first taste of what Pride Park has to offer, after long-standing injury concerns, they are starting to ease for Eustace, who at this moment in time only has Curtis Nelson out with a knee injury until given further updates on Johnston.

Beck's return will sure excite the Derby faithful as he has already shown that he is more than competent of playing at Championship level, and under Eustace when at Blackburn last season. The relationship between player and manager will give him the confidence and faith that he needs to deliver in his new colours.

When speaking to DerbyshireLive, Eustace said: "Owen's doing really well. He's back in full training now, and he's got a full week's training ahead of him. He's pushing to be in the squad, hopefully at the end of the week, but we'll wait and see."

"He had a big surgery last season. There's a lot of scar tissue that's been built up in that area and when he came back, that bit of scar tissue just caused a reaction. He's come back again and from rescanning it, there's still a tiny little bit of scar tissue left in there, which is just holding him back a little bit. But we're on top of that."

With the Rams gearing up for Sheffield United with the hope of achieving maximum points from their last three games, Beck's services could prove to be vital and would be a perfect opportunity to win over the fans' backing with the Blades struggling to find any real rhythm so far this season.