The Rams are sweating over the fitness of Owen Beck and Matt Clarke ahead of their Championship opener at the bet365 Stadium
Leigh Curtis Derby County Writer and Keith Wales CVS Editor - Midland Sport
17:36, 07 Aug 2025
Derby County's Matt Clarke scores
Derby County's Matt Clarke is facing a race against time to be fit for Saturday.
Owen Beck and Matt Clarke are touch-and-go to feature in Derby County's season opener at Stoke City on Saturday (3pm kick-off).
The pair have been dealing with minor strains and are now in a race against time to establish their fitness before the game at the bet365 Stadium.
Callum Elder is also making his way back from a calf issue and remains doubtful, while Lars Jorgen-Salvesen, Patrick Agyemang, Curtis Nelson, Kane Wilson and Sondre Langas are all out of action.
When quizzed about the chances of Liverpool loanee Beck and defender Clarke, who both participated in Derby's pre-season, being involved at Stoke, Eustace told Derbyshire Live: "They're still 50/50 on whether they'll be available.
"They have been working on their fitness side and obviously both had little strains.
"It's important that we don't rush them because we don't want them to break down any further."
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David Ozoh is in contention for a spot in the squad after playing 65 minutes against Forest Green Rovers last Friday, marking his first appearance since his season-long loan move from Crystal Palace.
"David is fit and he's obviously he has had 65 minutes last Friday," added Eustace, the former Stoke City captain.
"He's ahead of a lot of the other signings and he'll certainly be involved in the squad on Saturday."
For Stoke, summer recruit Maksym Talovierov remains a doubt as the central defender works to overcome a hamstring issue sustained earlier in pre-season.
Ashley Phillips and Lewis Baker were both ill for last week's final pre-season runout, a 1-0 victory over Burnley, but Stoke will be hoping they have recovered to face the Rams.
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