Weekend Briefing: Derby's Phillip Cocu hopes to see Wayne Rooney back in action

Injury briefing

Derby County hope Wayne Rooney can make a swift return

Derby are mounting a belated push towards the Sky Bet Championship playoff places and are keeping their fingers crossed over the fitness of Wayne Rooney, who missed last Sunday's 3-0 success at home to Blackburn with a minor injury.

Rooney's winter arrival at Pride Park coincided with an upturn in results for the Rams, who have banked 24 points from their last 13 games.

Derby manager Phillip Cocu is hopeful of Rooney returning for this weekend's clash at Millwall but he will not be able to select Duane Holmes (ankle), Tom Huddlestone (hamstring), Ikechi Anya (calf) or Krystian Bielik (knee). Midfielder George Evans is back in contention after a calf strain.

Peterborough United lose another defender to injury

Peterborough put in one of their best performances of the season to claim a 2-0 home victory over Portsmouth on Saturday but it came at a cost as key defender Nathan Thompson suffered a hamstring strain.

Scans revealed that Thompson will not be available again this month and will definitely miss forthcoming fixtures away to Bolton and at home to Bristol Rovers and Blackpool.

His absence comes at a tricky time because central defender Frankie Kent, absent since early February with a knee injury, is still on the recovery trail.

Double boost for Bristol Rovers in Sky Bet League One

Bristol Rovers rely heavily on 13-goal top scorer Jonson Clarke-Harris, who made a triumphant return from a shoulder injury on Tuesday with both goals in a 2-0 home win over Sunderland.

Clarke-Harris was absent when Rovers suffered a dismal 3-1 loss at Southend last weekend and his recovery is a massive boost to under-fire manager Ben Garner, who has presided over just two victories since his appointment in December.

Garner's hand is further strengthened by the availability of midfielder Abu Ogogo after a three-game ban but Ed Upson completes a two-game suspension and on-loan winger Josh Ginelly has returned to parent club Preston for treatment on a hip injury.

Bolton Wanderers boss Keith Hill burdened by key injuries

Few managers in the EFL have a tougher job than Bolton's Keith Hill, who was dealt more bad news on Tuesday with captain Jason Lowe (hamstring) and first-choice centre-forward Daryl Murphy (Achilles) failing fitness tests prior to the 2-2 draw at Burton.

Hill was boosted by the return of defender Kean Bryan, who shook off a hamstring injury and came straight back into the side in an unfamiliar midfield role.

Defenders Jack Hobbs and Yoan Zouma missed the midweek fixture and are doubts for Saturday's clash with highflying Peterborough at the University of Bolton Stadium.

Oldham Athletic sweating on fitness of defensive duo

Sky Bet League Two strugglers Oldham had a day to forget at Crawley on Saturday, crashing to a 3-0 defeat and losing central defender David Wheater and left-back Cameron Borthwick-Jackson to injuries.

Specific details of the duo's condition are yet to emerge but Wheater would be the bigger loss if he is unable to feature at home to Swindon on Saturday.

The 33-year-old has a wealth of experience and has played the majority of his career in the second tier.

Gaffer tracker

Mark Bonner – Cambridge United

Mark Bonner has become the second-youngest permanent head coach in English football behind MK Dons manager Russell Martin, after landing a contract with Sky Bet League Two outfit Cambridge until the end of the 2021-2022 season.

The 34-year-old, who had previously held the positions of academy manager, first-team coach and assistant manager, took over as caretaker manager after Colin Calderwood's dismissal on January 29.

He inherited a team on a six-match winless sequence and promptly led them to four successive victories to ease any lingering relegation fears.

Cambridge are 16th, having lost their last two matches – 2-1 at home to Carlisle and 2-1 at Leyton Orient – but those efforts did not change the mind of owner Paul Barry, who was delighted to hand Bonner a longer-term role.

United have been competitive in every match under Bonner and fans can look forward to a brighter future after Barry promised a larger playing budget for next season.

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