Derby County’s on-loan forward Sam Winnall is set for a lengthy spell out of action after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury.





The 27-year-old suffered the injury in the latter stages of last Saturday’s 3-0 win over Brentford and a scan on Monday has since shown the extent of the damage.

Winnall travelled to London to see a specialist on the injury and the Rams are working closely with his parent club Sheffield Wednesday as the focus now turns to his rehabilitation programme.

Since joining from the Owls on a season-long loan deal, Winnall has made 18 appearances in all competitions and has scored six goals, including a superb long-range strike in the 2-1 win at Ipswich Town in the final game of 2017.

Speaking about Winnall’s injury, Rowett told RamsTV: “It’s a real blow firstly for him because it is the player that you feel for before anything else.

“Of course, though, it is a big blow for the team because he’s such an important member of the group. His goals have won us games this season and he will be a sad miss for us.

“It was such an innocuous incident. If we remember it, over on the far touchline, he went down under no challenge and he just caught his studs in the ground."







He added: “His movement meant he twisted his knee, but he got up and carried on. He will probably be the first player to tear an ACL and go on to then have a shot, win us a penalty and make four runs. That shows his determination.”

“From my own experience with similar knee injuries you just want to know what the set period is that you’re going to be working through to get back to full fitness.

“That’s the scenario for him now. We’d be more than happy to keep him as part of the group. He might be on loan, but for me he is our player right now.

“We do, of course, have to respect that he is contracted to Sheffield Wednesday and we will speak to them about it.”