Derby County players arrested, captain sustains season-ending injury after wild night
A Derby County club dinner party ended in disgrace after two players were arrested for drink driving following a crash in which the captian sustained an injury that has ended his season.
Derby County, the English championship club which Wayne Rooney will take over as player coach in January, have issued a statement following an incident after a club dinner on Tuesday night which resulted in two players being charged with drink driving and captain Richard Keogh sustaining a knee injury that rules him out for the season.
On Wednesday, the British press reported that Derby County players Mason Bennett and Tom Lawrence were both arrested and charged with drink driving after their respective vehicles had been involved in a car crash in the Derby area on Tuesday night.
On Thursday it was learned that captain Keogh was injured in the accident, sustaining a knee injury that the club confirmed “will prevent him from playing the rest of the season”.
Derby County statement
In its statement released to the media, Derby County explained the details of the incident, before condoning the actions of “a small group of players”.
"The players were out as part of a scheduled team-building dinner with staff and while the majority of them acted responsibly and left at around 8pm and were not involved, a small group, including the team captain Richard Keogh, continued drinking into the night. They should have known when to stop and also ignored the opportunity to be driven home using cars laid on by the club, and chose to stay out.
"As a result of an alcohol-related incident, Richard Keogh has sustained a serious knee injury that will prevent him from playing until the end of the season.”
The club confirmed that the players involved “will be subject to a rigorous internal investigation under the club’s code of conduct and disciplinary procedures” and “know that they will pay heavy price for their action, but also that we will support them with their rehabilitation back into the squad and team”.
"We fully support the work of our partners at Drinkaware and the unsanctioned actions of this small group of players is totally at odds the stance that both Drinkaware and Derby County Football Club take regards alcohol. We will be using this situation to redouble our efforts in highlighting the dangers posed by alcohol,” the statement continued.
“We would also like to thank the emergency services for their swift help.”