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Derby County make the trip to The Hawthorns on Tuesday evening as they face fellow Championship side West Bromwich Albion in the first round of the Carabao Cup.
It was not the start to the season that John Eustace would have hoped for, with the Rams being beaten 3-1 away to Stoke City.
Eustace has still never beaten Mark Robins in his managerial career, despite the East Midlands outfit taking the lead at the bet365 Stadium as Carlton Morris scored on his debut after leaving Luton Town in July.
However, the result was not the only concern for Derby as Corey Blackett-Taylor went down clutching his hamstring, and the head coach has issued an update on the player’s fitness.
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Corey Blackett-Taylor is facing up to six weeks out at Derby County
Blackett-Taylor impressed greatly in pre-season, and after a year-and-a-half of fitness issues at Pride Park, it looked as though he was turning a corner.
However, Eustace has confirmed that the Derby winger has suffered another issue with his hamstring. Ahead of the Rams’ trip to West Brom, he said (via: BBC Radio Derby): “Unfortunately, he’s going to be out for six weeks.”
When asked about whether it’s a big blow and if the Rams will sign another winger, Eustace continued: “It certainly is. If the right ones (wingers) are available, we can’t just bring in players for the sake of it. We’ll have to look at it. I know the club are working very hard on the recruitment side, so we’ll just take it from there.
“I think it just shows that when people are asking questions about the team and whatnot, they understand where we are as a squad and not to get too carried away with the lows or the highs and let’s be sensible about how we’re talking.
“We’re building over the next seven, eight, nine months, not the next seven, eight, nine days. We had a disappointing result on Saturday with a squad of players that have been really competitive with a great attitude and let’s just build properly and see where we are at the end of the season.”
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The games that Corey Blackett-Taylor could miss
With it looking as though Blackett-Taylor will be out of action for the next six weeks at Derby, Eustace must have a plan B as Kayden Jackson is now his only fit winger, while young striker Charles Ebuka Agbawodikeizu is also out for the same period of time with a groin strain.
The 27-year-old will most likely not be available until the week commencing 22 September, meaning that he could miss six games, starting with West Brom in the cup.
The Rams then host Coventry City (16/08) and Bristol City (22/08), before they make the trip to Portman Road to face Ipswich Town (30/08).
Derby then face the Baggies once again, this time in the league at The Hawthorns (13/09), with Preston North End then travelling to Pride Park (20/09). Therefore, the next time Blackett-Taylor makes an appearance could be against Wrexham away from home on Saturday 27 September.