Derby defender Shaun Barker will be out for "a number of weeks" in the latest injury blow to rock the club.
The 27-year-old has suffered a recurrence of the thigh strain that kept him sidelined at the start of the season.
County have not put a timescale on how long the centre-half is expected to be out but it could be up to a month.
"It's a big blow because Shaun was starting to settle in and had a very good game against Sheffield Wednesday in our last game," boss Nigel Clough told the club's official website. "We are not prepared to put a specific time frame on the lay-off except to say it looks like being a number of weeks."
Barker cost the club £900,000 when he arrived from Blackpool in the summer but injury has restricted him to just five starts in all competitions this season.
The Rams will be without eight players through injury when they resume their Championship campaign at Midlands rivals Leicester at the weekend. Clough hopes Dean Leacock can recover from a hamstring problem to partner Jay McEveley at centre-half.
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