Jake: I’m aiming to pick up right where I left off
Young Derby County defender Jake Rooney is making good progress in his recovery from an ACL injury. In the second part of Derby County writer Leigh Curtis’s interview, we find Rooney optimistic about picking up his hugely promising career where it left off – and of course he is asked about his famous cousin Wayne, the former Rams manager.
JAKE Rooney’s recovery from an ACL injury has gone incredibly well, to the point that he could be in a position to return to training before the current League One campaign reaches its conclusion.
Derby County will naturally exercise extreme caution and it is nonetheless likely that we will not see him play for the first team until the start of next season.
That is when Rooney will look to pick up where he left off before that fateful afternoon in September against Bolton Wanderers.
His performances had left a marked impression on head coach Paul Warne and the supporters.
With such a serious injury denying him the chance to become an integral figure in Derby’s promotion chase, Rooney would be more than justified in feeling bitter about his cruel twist of fate.
But it’s clear from talking to him that he is at peace with the injury and himself.
“Injuries come at the worst time don’t they?” he says
“But I am a big believer that everything happens for a reason. Last year, I felt I had a good season. Even then I still didn’t have that opportunity to have a run of five or six games and stay in the team.
But I felt I was getting to my best this season and in that third game at Bolton I was thinking, this is me, I am in and I am ready to go all season.
“But you can only bounce back from it, can’t you? When I come back I just want to pick up where I left off and it’s only going to make my story greater because I’ve experienced this injury at such a young age.
“I guess it’s part of the job but the manager has been brilliant.
“Last year he wasn’t afraid to throw me in the big games. We had Ipswich Town at home and Portsmouth away. It was then Bolton and Peterborough United away this season.
“That confirmed in my mind that he trusts me which, for a young player, is massive.
“What position it will be, I don’t know. I have this conversation with my dad all the time.
“I’ve played centre-back and wing-back but the position I enjoy the most is midfield and I’d love to be in contention for that.
“I know it’s a cliché, that I don’t care where I play, but I sometimes I feel I just have a lot more to offer on the ball and I enjoy midfield, particularly in a holding role.”
As this chat draws to its conclusion, it would be remiss not to ask Rooney about his famous cousin Wayne, who is highly regarded at Derby for his spell as manager during the darkest chapter in the club’s history.
“Jake arrived from Burnley shortly after Rooney quit as the Rams boss in June two years ago.
“It denied him the chance to train under one of the greatest footballers the country has ever produced, but the connection is always there.
“He can be a hard man to get hold of at times because he is such a busy man,” says his young cousin.
“But I did speak to him when I got injured. To have somebody like that to lean on is brilliant really.
“You don’t get many better to come back with answers if you need anything. I guess it is a bit crazy given who he is but he has just always been my cousin since I was young.
“It’s not as mad to me as it is people looking in on the outside. He never got a chance to watch me last season because he was in America but he always asks how I am getting on.
“We won at home against Fleetwood Town and he was on the phone. I was buzzing and he was on the phone asking how the game had gone but the first thing he said was ‘don’t let it get to your head’.”
Judging by how gracefully Rooney has handled his time at Derby so far, there is no danger of that.