Lawrence named in Derby team at Barnsley, with Bennett on bench

Tom Lawrence was named in Derby’s starting XI for Wednesday night’s Sky Bet Championship clash with Barnsley, just over a week after he was charged with drink-driving.

The Wales international and Mason Bennett, who is among the substitutes at Oakwell, were charged following an incident in the Allestree area of the city on September 24.

The crash followed a team-building dinner, and Derby have said there will be a “rigorous internal investigation”.

Both players missed Saturday’s 3-2 victory over Birmingham at Pride Park.

Club captain Richard Keogh has been ruled out for up to 15 months after damaging knee ligaments on the night of the incident.

The Rams have not revealed the full extent of Keogh’s injury but the PA news agency understands the 33-year-old central defender has damaged his anterior cruciate ligament as well as other ligaments in his knee.

Reports on Monday suggested Keogh could be looking at 15 months on the sidelines, meaning he would not play again until December 2020.

That would take the Republic of Ireland international into the final few months of the three-and-a-half-year contract he signed in February 2018, which runs to the summer of 2021.