JAKE Buxton is set to return to the Derby County defence for tomorrow's Championship clash against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.
Buxton shook off a hip problem to play in the League victory over Rotherham United last Saturday but he was not risked for the Capital One Cup tie at Carlisle United.
Zak Whitbread stepped in to partner Richard Keogh at centre-back and helped the Rams to a 2-0 win.
But Buxton is back training as Steve McClaren's team prepare to take on the Owls (3pm).
"Bucko was excellent last Saturday and last season. If Bucko is fit, he will play," said McClaren, who was pleased with Whitbread's performance at Carlisle.
"It was great to see Zak play 90 minutes," added McClaren.
"What really pleased me about Zak was not just him getting 90 minutes but his performance. I thought he was great.
"That is a big relief because we need him fit and to stay fit because we will need him during the season."
Derby and tomorrow's opponents have both won their first two games of the season and kept successive clean sheets.
The Rams did the double over Wednesday last season, winning 3-0 at home and 1-0 away but McClaren is expecting a tough game.
"It was a really tough game at Hillsborough in February," he said.
"Sheffield Wednesday stifled us, did not allow us to play and it became a bit of a scrap.
"We didn't play well but in the end managed to win it thanks to a piece of quality (from Patrick Bamford) and some great defending towards the end.
"Wednesday have won both their games and won them well, so they will be confident."
Derby will be roared on by around 4,500 fans.
"That's very important, we need that. It should be a great atmosphere," said McClaren.
Wednesday boss Stuart Gray has a striker headache for the game.
New £800,00 signing Stevie May was suspended for Tuesday night's 3-0 win over Notts County and strikers Gary Madine and Atdhe Nuhiu opened their accounts for the season.
Now Gray must decide whether to retain faith in Madine and Nuhiu or hand May his debut.
Gray said: "You've got to have that competition and both strikers have scored – so has Jacques Maghoma – so it will be a difficult decision to make on Saturday against Derby."
