Derby hit by Keogh injury blow

Derby manager Phillip Cocu will be without injured captain Richard Keogh for Saturday’s Championship clash at home to Birmingham.

The 33-year-old Rams skipper has been ruled out for the season with a knee injury, believed to have been suffered in a car crash after a rained-off game of ‘foot golf’ as a team bonding exercise escalated into a drinking session.

The “alcohol-related incident” also saw two senior players – Tom Lawrence and Mason Bennett – charged with drink driving on Tuesday night.

Cocu has yet to decide whether Lawrence and Bennett could feature against Birmingham as 18th-placed Derby look to return to winning ways after a run of seven league games without victory.

The match could come too soon for Birmingham left-back Jonathan Grounds, who has been sidelined with a calf injury since pre-season.

The 31-year-old, who spent last season on loan at Bolton, completed 45 minutes for the under-23s on Monday as he continues his recovery.

Blues manager Pep Clotet could welcome back winger Cheick Keita (ankle) while Fran Villalba came off the bench – following a groin injury – for the last 11 minutes against Preston last time out and could feature.

Ecuador winger Jefferson Montero (thigh) remains out while Dutch midfielder Maikel Kieftenbeld (knee) will be on the injury list until around Christmas.