Derby County head into a clash against Norwich City with the pressure firmly on head coach John Eustace but it appears that a number of key players are set to return at the right time for the Rams

Derby County boss John Eustace believes the Rams’ returning players will give his side a boost - but does not want their injury crisis to become an excuse.

Derby have been blighted by a huge list of issues this season, with several players already ruled out.

Their issues appeared to grow even further at the weekend, with Joe Ward, David Ozoh and Henrik Meister all picking up issues either before or during the 4-1 defeat to Millwall.

Speaking ahead of Tuesday’s clash with Norwich, Eustace gave an update on the trio and also confirmed that two-long term absentees had returned to training.

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“He’s [Ward] going to be touch and go for tomorrow (Tuesday) night for sure," Eustace said. "He had a back spasm on Friday unfortunately just prior to training so we obviously had to change things around.

“Hopefully he won’t be too bad. We assessed him today, he was a little bit better so let’s see for tomorrow.

“He [Ozoh] took a real nasty blow to the back. I think he’s just strained a ligament in there. So we’ll see if he’s available for tomorrow.

“Henrik [Meister] came off as well with a knee problem at the time which was a blow. We’ll have to assess him tomorrow.

“We had Matt Clarke and Patrick (Agyemang) training fully today which was brilliant. There was a great buzz around the place. It lifted everyone seeing those two back on the training pitch so it’s a massive plus for us.”

Derby have endured a miserable time of things at the start of the season, with the Rams having chalked up just one win from their opening 13 games.

While recognising the impact of the injuries on his side, Eustace has been keen to underline that the squad and staff are not using them as an excuse for their woeful form.

He added: “It [the injuries] certainly doesn’t help, of course it doesn’t. We’ve got to find a way that whoever plays at the box, they’ve got to make sure we defend the box with our lives which is easier said than done.

“They’ve also got to be protected by the players in front so it’s certainly a team effort and that’s something that we keep driving into the whole squad. Whoever plays has got to be ready, prepared and hopefully we can put that into action on Tuesday.

“You look at their [Norwich] squad and they’ve got a fantastic squad of players. There’s two or three players who have come back from injury who can make a big difference for them as well.

“It’s the Championship you know, we just concentrate on ourselves. It’s a no excuse culture here at the football club and you know Tuesday, we can’t wait to play in front of 30,000 fans who’ll be right behind the group and that’s what we’re excited about.”