By kickspoll 
Derby County travel to Oxford United this evening for their second away match in the space of four days.
Derby secured a 1-1 draw against Millwall on Saturday, collecting their first away point of the campaign. It’s a result that left the Rams 12th in the Championship table, level on points with their opponents Oxford United, who also drew against West Brom at the weekend.
For Paul Warne and his players, drawing at the Den would have filled his first-team squad with confidence. However, EFL pundit Sam Parkin is predicting Oxford to beat Derby 1-0 and doesn’t believe that confidence will lead to another positive result.
Jake Rooney, a promising young defender, won’t be in the squad for the Oxford trip. Rooney’s development has been hindered over the last year. The 21-year-old suffered a season-ending ACL injury in a defeat to Bolton Wanderers in September 2023 and didn’t return to training until July 2024.
Rooney aimed to return to Championship football, but his comeback was cut short when he suffered a knee injury during a training camp in Spain. This setback kept him sidelined for three months. Rooney returned to action last week, playing 62 minutes for the under-21s in a 3-0 defeat against Aldershot Town in the National League Cup. He continued to progress, playing the full 90 minutes as the under-21s beat Brentford in the Premier League Cup on Monday.
With Derby playing against Oxford tonight, Rooney is ruled out of the squad, but he is edging closer to a first-team comeback. The young defender could be a long-term replacement for Sonny Bradley. When Rooney started the first few matches of the League One season, he appeared set to play a key role alongside Eiran Cashin and Curtis Nelson. Unfortunately, a long-term injury prevented him from fulfilling that role.
Bradley, now 33, is nearing the end of his career, while Rooney, if he continues to develop, could be a valuable future asset for Derby. He has shown promise as a ball-playing centre-back and could save Paul Warne significant funds in the transfer market.