The 23-year-old joined the club last summer from Portsmouth and was loaned out to the Rams for the season, but after playing 14 games he suffered a knee injury against local rivals Nottingham Forest in November.
The initial prognosis was a six to ten week lay-off, but Clarke was back in training after six weeks. He returned last week in Derby’s home wins over Charlton and Barnsley and his work ethic during rehabilitation was praised by head coach Phillip Cocu.
“I recovered ahead of schedule,” said Clarke. “Sometimes physios tell you a rehab time and you get fixated on that. I was told six to ten weeks so to come back after six weeks was good.
“I had a groin injury earlier in my career and was out for two months. That was less serious than the knee, but there was less I could do in rehab. With this injury I did some gym work which I might not otherwise have done.
“It’s part of football. I was still around the club and I watched a lot of games from the stands like a fan, and it was interesting to see it from that perspective.
“I didn’t play in the FA Cup at Crystal Palace on Sunday because the medical staff thought three games in six days was going to be hard after two months or so not playing. When you are fatigued the chances of getting injured increase. I wanted to play because I like the FA Cup, but I understood the reasons why.”
While he was doing his rehabilitation, Clarke spent time in the gym with Wayne Rooney, who joined Derby at the end of last year in a player-coaching role and made his debut alongside Clarke in the 2-1 win over Barnsley on 2nd January.
“I was with Wayne quite a bit when I did my rehab and he was doing extra sessions to get himself up to speed and now he’s just a normal member of the squad, but when you see some of the stuff he does in training you are reminded what a great player he is. We have won our last three now so you could say Wayne has already had the desired effect."
Those back to back wins have left Derby eight points off the play-offs in what is shaping up to be another very competitive Championship promotion race.
“As a club we’re not in the place we’d like to be in the table and it’s not as if we’re thinking the last play-off place is ours for the taking,” said Clarke. “Below Leeds and West Brom there are probably 15 teams with a chance of getting in the play-offs. There are 20 games left which is a lot of football still to be played.
“We feel we have the quality in our squad to be challenging. It hasn’t quite clicked yet but there are some good players here and we have won our last three, so the signs are good.”
Clarke still keeps a close eye on what is happening at his parent club. “The first result I ask for when I come off the pitch is Brighton’s,” he said. “Everything seems really positive at the club, and from what I have seen the results haven’t always reflected the performances we’ve put in, but hopefully that will change in the second half of the season.
“For me now it’s about playing as many games as I can before the end of the season, improving as a player and helping Derby to climb the table.”