Derby County duo Lee Buchanan and Krystian Bielik are both closing in making a return to action for the club.

As cited by The Athletic journalist Elias Burke, Rams manager Wayne Rooney has confirmed that both players are now participating in full training.

Whereas Buchanan is ahead of Bielik in the pursuit of full fitness, the Poland international is only a couple of weeks away from being available for selection.

Bielik has been forced to watch on from the sidelines for the entirety of the 2021/22 campaign after suffering a knee injury last season.

The midfielder sustained ligament damage during a clash with Bristol City and had to undergo surgery due to the severity of this issue.

Buchanan has recently missed a considerable chunk in action as a result of a problem with his knee.

The left-back hasn't featured for the club since their 3-2 victory over AFC Bournemouth in November.

Craig Forsyth has been utilised by Rooney in Buchanan's absence and is likely to make his 18th league appearance of the season when Derby host Sheffield United this weekend.

The Rams will need to be at their very best in order to secure a positive result in this particular fixture as the Blades have claimed maximum points in each of their last four league games.

The Verdict

This is an encouraging update for Derby as Buchanan and Bielik have both demonstrated in recent seasons that they are more than capable of delivering the goods at Pride Park.

When he was fit enough to feature for the Rams last season, Bielik produced a number of eye-catching displays as he averaged a club-high WhoScored match rating of 7.53 in the second-tier.

Buchanan meanwhile knows exactly what it takes to compete in this division as he has made 55 Championship appearances for Derby.

Providing that this particular duo are able to hit the ground running when they return to action, they could potentially help their side secure some much-needed victories as Derby look to launch a bid for survival in the second-tier.