Tom Lawrence banned for Derby as they take on Millwall

Posted Wednesday, February 23, 2022 by PA

Derby skipper Tom Lawrence will be missing through suspension for Wednesday night’s Sky Bet Championship clash with Millwall.

Lawrence was sent off after catching Nathan Thompson with a flailing arm during Saturday’s 1-0 win over Peterborough and will serve the first game of a three-match ban.

However, defender Richard Stearman is available once again after sitting out the last three games as a result of his dismissal at Huddersfield on February 2, and Rams boss Wayne Rooney has no fresh injury problems.

Lee Buchanan, who missed out at the weekend with a knock, and Colin Kazim-Richards (calf), are both closing in on returns.

Millwall will be without on-loan Sheffield United forward Oliver Burke, who could be sidelined for up to six weeks by a hamstring injury.

Burke limped out of last Tuesday night’s 2-0 win over QPR after just 28 minutes and is expected to be out for between four and six weeks.

Midfielder Maikel Kieftenbeld is likely to sit out for a similar period after also sustaining a hamstring problem.

The Lions, whose game at Blackburn on Saturday was postponed at short notice, have Arsenal loanee Daniel Ballard working his way back towards full fitness following knee surgery, but Luke Freeman is set to miss the remainder of the campaign with a hamstring injury.