Derby County head coach Gary Rowett has told the club website that he is very proud of Craig Forsyth after he battled back to get back into the first team.

Over the last few years, Forsyth has been dogged by injuries and that has seriously limited his appearances for the club. For many players, that would be the end of their career at a certain club and they’d be forced to move on and find an opportunity elsewhere. However Derby decided to have some faith in Forsyth and that has paid off this season.

Forsyth has had breaks this season, which has been to allow him to rest and now cause another injury to himself, but he has been a key part of the team and has put in some impressive performances, including in matches against Nottingham Forest and Leeds United. This has led to Rowett singling him out for special praise today.

He said: “Craig should be commended for the long battle he had with injury, which I’ve faced myself and even if you have 20 members of staff around you every day, it’s a lonely battle.”

“There are times when you wonder if you’re ever going to get back playing games again, so for Fozzy to do that and to come back in such good shape and with such professionalism, he deserved to start the season.”

“He came to see me after he was left out of the Preston game and he told me that he needs to play games, he asked to play in every Under-23s game, he’s done a lot of extra work and we’re starting to see the benefit of that.”

“I think we’ve got to be fair to him, it’s going to take longer for him to get to 100 per cent match fitness, but we’ve been really pleased with his attitude and his performances have backed up the fact that we know he’s a very good player.”