Morley's Musings: With No Thorne In Their Side Who Does Derby Turn To?
Tuesday, 10th May 2016 13:19 by Nathan Morley

The news broke shortly after the match on Saturday that Thorne’s injury was a double leg break. Does poor old George have any luck with injuries?

You have to wonder when or if we will ever get to see him fully fit and available for a decent amount of consecutive matches? Especially now Will Hughes is fully fit, it would be great to see them in the same team for more than a handful of games.

It’s a big blow for this weekend’s first leg as Thorne is a calm, strong and effective midfielder, the sort who is on of the first picked in the side when fit. He will also be missed on a wider scale as George is clearly a valued and well liked member of the squad, just look at the reaction of his team mates on the pitch and on Twitter after the match.

The immediate focus is on how this loss will impact Derby’s starting XI and style in the play-off semi finals. With obvious replacement Jamie Hanson out injured, Chris Baird has been recalled from Fulham and will be one player available for selection.

Will Hughes played in the deeper central midfield position to good effect against Sheffield Wednesday recently while Jacob Butterfield is an option in the role too.

Perhaps it will mean a return to the side for Bradley Johnson, an experienced campaigner and a member of last season’s play-off winners? The only concern with that selection would be despite showing good form before his recent injury; Johnson’s last appearance was against Hull in April.

All of this speculation is made under the assumption that Darren Wassall opts to stick with the 4-3-3 that has been used for the most part in the last 2-3 years. Despite all of the talk of a plan B and having other formation options, it is the 4-3-3 which the Rams always revert to.

Whoever Wassall goes with, they will be likely to face Jake Livermore and Tom Huddlestone in the Tigers midfield, so you can be sure that all of these options and more will be mulled over by the coaching staff.

Maybe it all won’t matter in the so-called ‘lottery’ of the play-offs. There is obviously a good team spirit amongst the group and the Rams have proven they can beat Hull, having already completed the double over them this season.

Bring it on!

For more of Nathan's articles you can read his blog at www.derbycountyfan.com and follow him via @ramscorner on Twitter.