Paul Warne has revealed that on-loan Derby County midfielder, David Ozoh has suffered a hamstring injury. The youngster hobbled off in the Rams’ win against Cardiff last weekend and is now set for six weeks on the sidelines.
Since arriving from Crystal Palace in the summer, Ozoh has been a mainstay in the Derby midfield and proved to be a big hit. In fact, the Rams are yet to lose a home game when Ozoh has been starting central midfield, so Warne must now find a way to get by these next six weeks.
David Ozoh suffers hamstring injury
It was a big decision for Palace and Ozoh to make over the summer with the youngster keen to get first-team minutes. The midfielder decided to join newly-promoted Derby and be coached by Warne, however, this latest injury will be a monumental blow to both the club and Ozoh.
The England youth international had never been out on loan before this season but took to first-team football like a duck to water. Ozoh lasted just 50 minutes during the 1-0 win against Cardiff, and it says a lot that the Rams failed to get another goal against the league’s bottom side once he went down the tunnel.
Warne was rather forthcoming when it came to the Ozoh news and admitted that after going for a scan, the results were not positive. He said, “Obviously, he’s going to be out for a period of time,” he said. “We won’t see him this side of the international break.
“He’s obviously got damage to his hamstring. It was innocuous. It was just a pass to the side, and he just went down. It isn’t the worst news, but it’s five to six weeks. At one stage, I thought it could have been more severe, but he’s all right in himself.”
Derby County dealt a damaging blow
The imposing midfielder was not just a controlling force in the middle for Warne but was also starting to get himself further forward. His first senior goal came against Bristol City and the youngster ranks third for shot-creating actions per 90 minutes in the Derby squad (FBRef).
With Ozoh now not available until at least after the next international break, Warne has a tough decision to make in terms of who will fill the void. The Rams have some tough clashes coming up against Sheffield United, Sunderland and QPR, so this injury couldn’t have come at a worse time.