It's been something of a difficult start to life at Derby County for Jordon Ibe.

Having departed Bournemouth prior to the extended end to last season at the expiry of his contract in June, the winger eventually found himself a new club when he signed a two-year deal with the Rams in September.

Since then however, it has been rather slow going for the winger during his time at his new club so far.

Having struggled to get up to fitness after so long out of the game, Ibe finally made his first appearance for Derby at the weekend, as he came on as a late substitute during the Rams goalless draw at home to Stoke City.

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But despite that, it does seem as though things are starting to look up for the winger, with that setback not expected to keep him out of Derby's trip to the New York Stadium to face Rotherham on Saturday.However, that was then followed up by another minor setback for the 25-year-old, as he missed out on his side's eye-catching 2-0 win at home to Swansea on Wednesday, with a knock he had sustained earlier in the week while featuring for the Under 23s in a bid to boost his fitness.

Indeed, it appears as though with fitness now improving, Ibe is set to become a more regular feature on the Derby teamsheet sooner rather than later.

With the winger now getting to a stage where he can play regularly, while also receiving praise from assistant interim manager Liam Rosenior for the ability he possesses, it does seem as though calling the shots at Pride Park are expecting big things from him sooner rather than later.

As a result, while it may have taken some time for things to get back on the right track for Ibe following his departure from the Vitality Stadium, it seems as though the winger's patience is about to pay off, and with Derby's own form taking a turn for the better recently, they will no doubt hope that they too, are about to benefit from that.