Derby County manager Gary Rowett has been previewing the Rams' game with Birmingham City recently and it is not all good news for fans of the club.

The men from Pride Park have had a very good run of late and are now looking strong enough to get themselves into the Premier League at the end of the season.

There's still a long way to go, though, and so they need to focus on one game at at time - starting with a game against the Blues this weekend.

For Rowett, who faces his old side, though, there is a slight fitness problem to have to deal with with some of the members of his squad.

Indeed, he has revealed that Joe Ledley is up against it to play this weekend whilst Bradley Johnson will definitely miss out, leaving them short in the midfield department.

As quoted by the club's official site and channel he said:

"Joe has a chance of being fit for the Birmingham game but we think it’s more likely to be next week.

“We’ve found out this morning (Thursday) that Bradley Johnson’s back injury is slightly worse than we thought, so it might be that he needs an extended period of rest and recovery to get back to being fully fit.

“We’re a body down in that position with him being out and possibly two if Joe doesn’t come back fighting fit."

Clearly, then, Rowett would prefer to have the pair fit but he can't rush them back.

Fortunately, Derby are blessed with some good options in midfield anyway and so he might just be able to get by without the pair this weekend.

The Verdict

Derby have got a good squad and that is reflected by their current form.

You'd think that they are going to be okay with the challenge against Birmingham, then, even without the midfield pair.

Thoughts, Rams fans? Let us know below!