He may still be a couple of weeks away from a return to full pre-season action, but Callum Guy has spoken of his determination to be ready for what he has labelled as a ‘big season’ ahead of him.
Derby County’s Under-23s reported back for duty on Monday 2nd July, but Guy, alongside a few of his team-mates, were back undertaking work at the Training Centre in partnership with the University of Derby a week earlier.
The 21-year-old midfielder is working towards fully recovering from a torn hamstring sustained at the end of the 2017/18 campaign.
Guy picked up the injury during his successful loan spell at Bradford City, but he counts himself lucky that the timing of the injury means he will not miss too much of the pre-season workload.
“The summer has gone quite quickly,” he told RamsTV. “I’ve got an injury at the moment and I’m still a couple of weeks away from being able to hit the ground running.
“I’m focused on building up my fitness ahead of what is going to be a big season ahead.
“I’m working on my own fitness stuff and doing a lot more work in the gym. It’s only a matter of time now – I’m not too far away.
“I’m lucky really that I got the injury at the time that I did because it meant that I wouldn’t have to miss to a lot of pre-season.
“I should be back for all of the games and back in full training on Monday if all goes well. I have a hard week ahead of me to make sure that happens.”
Guy is returning to Derby off the back of his second EFL loan spell in as many seasons.
The dynamic, box-to-box, player made 17 appearances in Sky Bet League 1 with the Bantams, impressing heavily during that time at Valley Parade too.
That came off the back of a similar spell at Port Vale during the 2016/17 campaign. Again, Guy really caught the eye.
“I gained a lot of experience from playing League football again,” he added. “It helps a lot as a young player and I gained a vast amount of experience from my time at Bradford.
“It was nice to have the backing of the fans too because as a young player you’re not too well known so to put in a few good performances and have the crowd really get behind you was a great feeling.
“I enjoyed my time there, it’s a great club and I wish them all the best for the season.”
Looking ahead to the future, Guy’s aim is to make an immediate impression on the new Derby County manager.
Frank Lampard and his first team squad are currently out in Tenerife on a training camp but return to Derby ahead of the start of their games schedule next week.
For any young player, Guy feels having someone with the pedigree of Lampard can only be beneficial and he is now hoping he has an opportunity to show the Rams’ boss what he is all about.
“To have a manager who played in the same position as you is always beneficial, but to have someone as experienced as him is huge for us as young players,” he said.
“What he achieved in the game is unbelievable really. He’s someone we can only learn from.
“Hopefully I can get myself in and around the first team, by doing that I will only have a great chance of showing and proving that I am good enough to stay there.”