Duane Holmes is likely to return for Derby County should the EFL Championship season continue later this Spring.

With the ongoing Coronavirus epidemic forcing numerous leagues to be postponed, Holmes has continued his recovery from a leg injury suffered in mid-February. The American midfielder has been one of the Rams’ top players this season and manager Phillip Cocu is staying positive that Holmes will return come April’s proposed restart to the season.

“Duane Holmes is in individual sessions with the physio, now, so it is hard to say at this moment (how long he will be out),” said Cocu.

“Every day is important. It could be one week, two weeks, a little bit more. At the moment we are still positive, maybe in two weeks he could be joining the team again.”

Holmes has scored three goals and added three assists in 30 appearances in all competitions. He suffered the injury in a 1-1 league draw against Huddersfield Town back on Feb. 15th, missing five matches in all competitions so far.

The 24-year-old joined Derby County in 2018, eventually helping Frank Lampard’s side to a place in the EFL Championship final. Holmes totaled 31 appearances in all competitions, before earning his first senior cap for the U.S. Men’s National Team.

A versatile midfielder who can also play out wide, Holmes has only earned two caps for the USMNT since June 2019. He impressed in a 1-0 friendly loss to Jamaica in D.C. before also appearing in a 3-0 loss to Venezuela in Cincinnati.

Holmes eventually had to withdraw from the USMNT Gold Cup roster due to injury. He was likely a candidate for Gregg Berhalter’s March roster for trips to the Netherlands and Wales on the 26th and 30th respectively, but those friendlies have also been postponed to the epidemic.

The Rams are 12th in the EFL Championship table with nine matches remaining, although there is no official ruling that the season will continue come April.