Derby County Faces Setback as Widell Zetterstrom Injured

Derby County’s season has taken another heavy blow, with first-choice goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom facing up to two months on the sidelines with a knee injury.

The 28-year-old was hurt in the second half of Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Birmingham City. For a moment it looked like his afternoon was over there and then, as he went down and received treatment, but he chose to carry on and finished the Championship match.

The damage was done.

Scans have now confirmed a knee problem serious enough to force Widell Zetterstrom out of Sweden’s squad for their four upcoming Nations League group games against Romania, Poland and Bosnia-Herzegovina in late September and early October.

Derby do not expect him back until around mid-November. That timeline could see him miss as many as eight league fixtures for a Rams side already limping through an early-season injury crisis.

The setback came on a grim afternoon at St Andrew’s. Before Widell Zetterstrom’s knock, Henrik Meister had already been taken off on a stretcher after suffering a head injury, another worrying sight for a squad that can ill afford more absentees.

Both now join a crowded treatment room. Matt Clarke, Derry Murkin, Filip Bilbija, Rhian Brewster, Craig Forsyth and Lewis Travis are all already out, leaving Derby’s options stretched across the pitch and testing the depth of a squad battling at the wrong end of the table.

Widell Zetterstrom’s absence carries extra weight. Derby did well to fend off significant transfer interest in the summer after his impressive World Cup performances, keeping hold of a goalkeeper who had quickly become a cornerstone of their plans.

Now they must cope without him.

Josh Vickers, on the bench for every Derby game this season, is expected to step in. His task is clear and unforgiving: steady a struggling side, replace a World Cup performer, and help drag the Rams away from trouble at a time when the injuries just won’t stop coming.