Duo give Rams injury boost
Mendez-laing
and James Collins gave Derby County a huge injury boost ahead of their League One run-in.
Both were given the all-clear to return to action and Mendez-laing did so for 83 minutes in the 1-0 win at home to Blackpool ast Friday.
Collins appeared from the bench after 70 minutes, replacing Conor Washington, who had also returned from injury.
It eases the blow for the Rams of having lost striker Dwight Gayle to injury.
Second-placed Derby were due to play leaders |Portsmouth in a key clash on Tues
day night, after the ANT’S
deadline.
After that, they have four games to play in the regular season to try to secure one of the two automatic promotion places.
Mendez-laing had needed to be replaced in the previous Saturday’s defeat away to Northampton Town when he picked up an injury following a tackle in the second half.
It sparked concern that the winger would miss the promotion run-in for the Rams.
Rams head coach Paul Warne feared Mendez-laing’s hamstring injury was a pull rather than an impact injury but scans confirmed there is no serious damage.
Collins was also available after training this week.
The 18-goal forward has recovered from a knee ligament injury he suffered in February.
On Mendez-laing, Warne said: “He’s had the scan and he’s got the all-clear. There is a little issue regarding where there is some scar tissue from a previous injury.
“For him to miss potentially four to six weeks when you’ve got that amount left of the season would have been devastating. So it’s really good news.”
Regarding Collins, Warne added: “James is back. He’ll train with the squad today (Wednesday) and he’ll definitely be in the squad for Friday. We’ll see how he gets through training.”
Collins’ much faster than expected recovery owed much to the club’s medical team and an innovative process.
Scans had showed he had ligament damage and it was initially suspected that he would be ruled out until the end of April.
However, Derby’s medical team decided to embark on treatment in which a sample of Collins’ blood was taken, then spun before it was injected back into his knee. It is what is known as platelet therapy.
That has, according to Warne, helped attach the ligament back to the bone and Collins went from being out for 12 weeks to being out for six.
Not only has that treatment worked incredibly well but the striker’s professionalism in how he looks after himself has been pivotal.