DORIAN Dervite is confident Wanderers can get off to a winning start in the Championship despite a mini defensive crisis ahead of Saturday's home opener against Derby County.

After a relatively injury-free pre-season, the Whites were hit by a double blow over the weekend when both Derik Osede and David Wheater limped out of matches.

Derik suffered an ankle strain 10 minutes into the second half of Friday's first-team draw with Charlton while Wheater's first outing since March for the development squad at Southport lasted less than 45 minutes.

The club have eased concerns over his latest injury – a calf strain – yesterday confirming a lay-off of around 10 days, while Derik is set to be out for up to three weeks.

It is a blow for boss Neil Lennon whose only fit senior centre-backs ahead of Saturday's curtain-raiser are Tim Ream and Dervite.

But the Frenchman is upbeat about his side's chances.

Dervite said: “I don’t think it will be a big problem for us because in training we do change things round a lot, play with different partners in central defence.

“It should not be a concern. We’ll be ready for the first game of the season against Derby County.

"The injury to Derik was very disappointing, especially to me because I get on very well with him on and off the pitch.

“I don’t think it’s too bad, hopefully it won’t be long."

The pair had been striking up an understanding in pre-season, with the former Real Madrid youngster starting five of the seven matches alongside Dervite.

In fact, Dervite has played at least 45 minutes of every game in pre-season.

With Ream also in action on international duty with the US in the Concacaf Gold Cup, Saturday's expected central defensive pairing should be ready for the challenge posed by a Rams front line that includes Premier League experience in the shape of ex-Aston Villa men Darren Bent and Andreas Weimann.

Dervite added: "I think playing Charlton in the last game will help us a lot.

"They made us run a lot in the first half and overall it was a great workout.

“I played for 45 minutes in the first two games, I think, but then after that I’ve played nearly every minute.

"I feel really good physically and the more games I play, the happier I am, so at the moment everything is fine.

“We’re all looking forward to the Derby game.

"The team is ready – we’ve worked hard this summer and it has all been working towards this."