Paul Warne has offered an update on Derby County winger Joe Ward following their goalless draw against Wycombe Wanderers.
Derby County could only manage a point away at Wycombe Wanderers as they threw away the chance to create breathing space between them and the chasing pack. The Rams’ reward for clinching victory at Adams Park was a four-point buffer on Bolton Wanderers, blowing that chance by lacking any real threat.
Paul Warne‘s men were uncharacteristically wasteful in the final third. Corey Blackett-Taylor missed a golden chance to score as Derby failed to register a single shot on target from their five attempts in the match.
A huge reason why the visitors struggled to break down the hosts was due to Joe Ward missing out on the squad. The 28-year-old provided two huge goals for the Rams against Portsmouth last week to secure a point, although he was sadly withdrawn in the second half following a knock to his knee.
Paul Warne drops Joe Ward injury update
The start of Ward’s Derby career was a slow burner following his move from Peterborough United, however, he was beginning to show the best of his talent.
Starting in an advanced position down the right, the Englishman has scored two and assisted three in his last six appearances for the club.
Arguably the current in-form player in Warne’s squad, the fleet-footed winger’s output was missed against Wycombe as the Derby boss shuffled Nathaniel Mendez-Laing out to the right and brought Conor Washington in centrally.
“Joe’s knee is still swollen and I think we missed him tonight,” he told Derby’s official website. “Whether he will be OK for the weekend, I honestly don’t know yet because he is still sore and his knee is still swollen.”
Joe Ward’s creativity was a huge miss v Wycombe
Ward is a brilliant footballer technically whose ability to supply quality in the final third was missed against Wycombe.
An excellent crosser of the ball and a threat on the counter with his dangerous right foot, the Derby wideman is great at fashioning a piece of quality from nothing.
A closely-fought contest against The Chairboys required one of Warne’s bigger players to step up, as the likes of Mendez-Laing, Blackett-Taylor and James Collins were bitterly disappointing.
Perhaps if Ward wasn’t injured he would have provided that magic, just like he did against Portsmouth, to see off Wycombe.
After all, the former Peterborough whiz has been one of League One’s best wide players in the last six seasons.
Ward was building up a head of steam in a Derby shirt and suffered an injury setback at the wrong time. Hopefully, he is back for Saturday’s home clash against Leyton Orient, although Warne’s update doesn’t sound promising.
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