Derby County are making plans to ensure that Wayne Rooney is ready to go when he arrives at the club in January.

Rooney is finishing up the MLS season, as his DC United side were knocked out of the playoffs.

They were thumped 5-1 and the game called time on Rooney's MLS career.

The Daily Mailsays Rooney will be asked to go through a whole preseason before he plays for Derby starting in January.

The Championship side want to ensure the 33-year-old is fit and not experiencing any rust when he starts training with the first team.

He will reportedly spend the Christmas break working on his fitness to ensure he can hit the ground running on his return to English football.