Derby County defender Curtis Davies has delivered a message to fans on social media after the 1-0 win at Scunthorpe United in the EFL Cup last night.
The 33-year-old made his first appearance of the season at Glanford Park, as a much-changed Derby side booked their place in the second round of the competition thanks to spectacular debut goal from 18-year-old Lee Buchanan.
Derby boss Phillip Cocu made eleven changes to the side that started the goalless draw against Swansea City at the weekend, handing debuts to new signings Ben Hamer, Krystian Bielik and Graeme Shinnie, as well as academy graduate Buchanan.
Davies was also called into the side for his first start for Derby in over eight months and played the entire 90 minutes alongside Bielik at centre-back.
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The defender made just five appearances for Derby in the Championship last season and was making his first appearance for the club since he suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in a 2-1 defeat at Stoke City in November 2018.
After the game, Davies posted a message to Derby fans on his personal
/">Instagram
The centre-back also praised Buchanan for his wonderful debut goal and admitted that he is relishing the prospect of facing rivals Nottingham Forest in the second round of the competition.
The Verdict
Davies was an extremely important player for Derby during the 2017/18 season and played every game in the Championship as the Rams reached the play-off semi-finals.
The defender really struggled to make an impact for Derby last season due to his injury problems, so I'm sure he would have been delighted to make his return to action for the Rams last night.
I'm expecting Matt Clarke to start alongside Richard Keogh at centre-back for Derby in the Championship this season, but Davies is an extremely experienced defender and a big character in the dressing room, so he could still have an important role to play for the Rams this term.