The Rams man has recovered from a foot injury – could he feature for the Pride Park side in their big clash with Leeds at Elland Road?
Derby County manager Phillip Cocu has confirmed that Florian Jozefzoon has been nursing a foot injury and, now that he’s had some time to recuperate fully, he will be a “different” player, as reported by the Derby Telegraph.
The Dutchman has had a difficult start to the season for the Rams and, at times, has looked out of sorts, prompting criticism from sections of the Pride Park fanbase, for example in the 2-2 draw with Stoke City, as can be read here.
Jozefzoon, who has missed both Carabao Cup ties for Derby this term, then played 45 minutes against Bristol City and then missed out of the matchday squads for the West Bromwich Albion and Brentford games, after which he made a bright cameo against Cardiff City which some fans praised.
“I think Jozefzoon started okay, but he continued too long with some physical issues,” Cocu, who also worked with the player at PSV Eindhoven, told the Derby Telegraph.
“They (the physical issues) were not ignored, but he tried to deal with it. In the end, he had to stop for a week to recover from the foot injury 100 percent. Now I see again a different Jozefzoon, like I know him.”
Jozefzoon joined Derby from Brentford last summer for a reported £2.8million fee (Transfermarkt) and has made 39 Rams appearances to date.
Up next for the Rams is Saturday’s trip to Elland Road to face Leeds United in a highly anticipated game between two sides who had their differences – to say the least – last season, and the Derby Telegraph predicts Jozefzoon is an option for Cocu if he sticks with his 4-2-3-1/4-3-3 formation.
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