Derby County Goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom Faces Two Months Out

Derby County have been hit by another major injury blow, with first-choice goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom facing up to two months on the sidelines with a knee problem.

The 28-year-old was hurt during the second half of Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Birmingham City. For a moment it looked serious enough to end his afternoon there and then, as he went down and required treatment. Instead, he gritted his teeth, stayed on and finished the game.

The damage, though, has caught up with him.

Zetterstrom has now withdrawn from the Sweden squad for their four upcoming Nations League group fixtures against Romania, Poland and Bosnia-Herzegovina in late September and early October. Derby do not expect him back until around mid-November.

That timeline is brutal for a side already stuck near the wrong end of the Championship and creaking under an injury crisis. Zetterstrom could miss as many as eight league matches, a run that will shape the Rams’ season long before the Christmas schedule even begins.

The setback came on a grim afternoon at St Andrew’s. Before Zetterstrom’s knee became an issue, Henrik Meister had already been taken off on a stretcher after a head knock, adding to the sense of a squad unravelling physically as well as on the scoreboard.

Both now join a packed treatment room. Matt Clarke, Derry Murkin, Filip Bilbija, Rhian Brewster, Craig Forsyth and Lewis Travis are all already out, leaving Derby’s depth badly exposed just weeks into the campaign.

Losing Zetterstrom stings in particular. Derby did well to keep hold of him in the summer after his World Cup performances attracted strong transfer interest. He arrived as a goalkeeper of growing international pedigree; he now leaves a sizeable hole.

Josh Vickers, on the bench for every game so far this season, is set to step in. He inherits not just the gloves, but the responsibility of steadying a season that already feels precarious.