“He will definitely play a part,” he said. “We got Elliot because he had been out for a little period of time. He had been on the bench at

Sunderland in fairness. The club was kind enough to let us take him on loan.

“We’ve got to get him up to speed and he is getting closer. He played 45 minutes and scored earlier in the week. He’s been looking

better in training. It’s weird because it’s a bit like muscle memory as a player when you’ve been out for a bit.

“When you first come back, everything is a bit quick but then one morning you wake up and you feel everything is back to normal.”

Portsmouth boss on Derby clash

Portsmouth’s manager John Mousinho is looking forward to the team’s journey to Derby County and noted that their last-season

performance at Pride Park set a precedent.

With three victories and three draws in their first six games, Pompey is currently undefeated this season and is anticipated to contend for promotion.

They held Derby to a 1-1 draw in their last visit with James Collins cancelling out Colby Bishop’s goal in the first half. Tomorrow’s

game is the biggest in the division and Mousinho says he and the squad are ready as both sides return to action following the

international break.

“Every game provides a different test and it will be no different on Saturday against Derby, who are one of the favourites for promotion,” he said.

“It was nice to have some time off after nine games in under 30 days – it’s the busiest start to a season I can remember. They’ve

invested in their squad and we know what they’re all about, while it will be a good atmosphere at Pride Park. It’s something we’ll relish.

“We need to make sure we can mix it with the top sides in the division, which we want to be this season. It perhaps let us down a bit

during the last campaign, although playing as well as we did at Derby towards the end did lay down a marker.”

Two former Derby players could have MMA battle

Two former Derby County players could be about to engage in a mixed martial arts fight, which may seem like some left-field news.

Tomasz Hajto, who appeared for the Rams on a number of occasions, has previously made his Clout MMA debut in Poland but was

unsuccessful after being choked out by former volleyball player Zbigniew Bartman.

But the 50-year-old is getting ready for another fight in the octagon, and his next opponent might be ex-Derby striker Grzegorz Rasiak,

another former player.

Rasiak is reportedly considering a confrontation but is injured in his hand, according to reports in Poland. When Rasiak appeared as a

guest on a Clout MMA show last month, he did not rule out engaging in mixed martial arts combat, even if it were just once.

“There’s definitely a little bit of sport in me,” he admitted during the programme, laughing that he no longer plays football but instead

plays tennis or golf.

Everything is possible. I would first like to witness a good fight today. I’m concentrating right now on going to the gala.

Rasiak, who scored 18 goals in 41 league appearances for Derby between 2004 and 2005, now seems to be up against Hajto.