Derby boss makes Elliot Embleton admission after Sunderland midfielder makes Rams debut against Portsmouth

Derby boss Paul Warne admitted he didn’t intend to play Elliot Embleton as long as he did after the Sunderland midfielder made his Rams debut over the weekend.

Embleton joined Derby on a season-long loan deal on transfer deadline day, with the 24-year-old short of game time after suffering an ankle fracture and ligament injury in December.

Following an injury to Derby captain Conor Hourihane in the first half of a 1-1 draw against Portsmouth, Embleton came off the bench in the 38th minute to make his Rams debut over the weekend.

Kane Wilson, Louie Sibley and Tom Tom Barkhuizen also came off the bench for Derby against Pompey following recent injury setbacks, with The Rams conceding a stoppage-time equaliser at Pride Park.

Warne told Derby’s website after the match: “We ended the game, Elliot shouldn’t have played that long, Kane shouldn’t have played that long, Sibs and Tom are coming back so they are all a little bit rusty, but they’ll be better for it so that’s the positive.

“We should still be good enough with five or six minutes left to see the game out and it’s disappointing.”

Embleton could be handed his first Derby start when The Rams host Lincoln in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday.

The Rams will then travel to Carlisle in League One next weekend.

When asked if he’s looking to tweak his side for the Lincoln fixture Warne replied: “Yeah I am. While we’ve got players coming through we need them to come back because come Saturday them four might be starting as well.”