Derby County manager Wayne Rooney has revealed that Krystian Bielik is making good progress from his knee injury whilst Colin Kazim-Richards could be in line to return to training after the upcoming international break.

Bielik has been forced to watch on from the sidelines since February and is not expected to return to competitive action until 2022.

Before picking up this particular issue, the Poland international managed to deliver some impressive performances in the second-tier for the Rams.

Kazim-Richards helped Derby avoid relegation to League One last season as he netted eight goals and provided two assists for his team-mates in 38 Championship appearances.

After making a positive start to the 2021/22 campaign by scoring in the club's League Cup victory over Salford City, the 35-year-old damaged his Achilles tendon during the Rams' 2-1 defeat to Peterborough United.

As a result of Kazim-Richards' setback, Derby decided to sign Sam Baldock on a short-term basis.

Currently bottom of the Championship standings, the Rams will be hoping to bounce back from their recent defeat to Sheffield United by producing a positive performance against Reading on Wednesday.

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Ahead of this particular clash, Rooney has shared an update on this aforementioned duo.

Speaking to the Derby Telegraph about Bielik, the Rams boss said: "Positive news on Krystian, who will join in part of the sessions with us after the international break, which is really going to plan.

"Then, obviously, it is going to take a while to build himself up and get his confidence back in his injury, but it will be nice to have him part of the non-contact sessions with us, and for himself also to be back among the group."

Making reference to Kazim-Richards, Rooney added: "It is just about re-assessing Colin after the international break, I would imagine it would be some sort of training with us probably a week after the international break."

The Verdict

Whilst Bielik and Kazim-Richards will still be sidelined for the foreseeable future due to their respective issues, this particular update is encouraging as they are both clearly making progress.

Having averaged a club-high WhoScored match rating of 7.53 in the Championship last season, Bielik could potentially emerge as a key player for Derby in the second-half of the current campaign.

As for Kazim-Richards, he will be hoping to find the back of the net on a regular basis for the Rams when he is fit enough to feature.

In order to prevent the possibility of Bielik or Kazim-Richards suffering another injury setback, Rooney ought to consider easing this duo back into action.