Derby County head coach Paul Warne has allayed fears over Jerry Yates by admitting he will be fit to face Watford at the weekend.

The striker was not included in the squad for last night's FA Cup defeat to Leyton Orient as Derby lost 6-5 on penalties.

Derby took the decision to rest Yates after the on-loan Swansea forward struggled through the defeat to Bristol City with a groin problem. However, the forward, who is the club's top scorer, will be available to face Watford at Pride Park when the Rams resume their Championship campaign, according to Warne.

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"Jerry will be fit for Saturday," he said. "It was just a precaution.

"The last game he played he had an issue with his groin. He managed to get through it and his movement wasn't great, but we've sort of shut him down. He will be fine for the weekend.

Derby have missed several key players through injury with David Ozoh, Eiran Cashin and Ryan Nyambe all enduring spells on the sidelines.

Ozoh has been missing since injuring his hamstring and then his quad but is due to return to training in the next few days.

But Cashin and Nyambe both trained this week but the former is the most likely out of all three to feature against the Hornets after recovering from a hamstring problem.

"Cash is champing at the bit so is Ryan who has been out a lot longer than Cash. Cash should be available to play at the weekend," said Warne.

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