Derby’s start to their Premiership campaign has been hit by the news that starlet Giles Barnes seems certain to miss the season’s opening fixtures. Barnes is still recovering from a broken foot sustained in the playoff final victory and has not progressed as quickly as expected. According to manager Billy Davies he faces another two to three weeks on the sidelines before he can return to training, ruling him out of Derby’s pre-season and effectively putting him out of contention for Derby’s opening two fixtures against Portsmouth and Man City.

Barnes is one of the few Derby players who will catch the eye of Fantasy Managers during pre-season, having contributed 10 goals and 6 assists to Derby’s promotion cause.