Derby County defender Jake Rooney has endured a long road to recovery but there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel after posting a fresh update on social media.
Jake Rooney suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in the defeat to Bolton Wanderers back in September as Derby were dealt the crushing news that he would be sidelined for the remainder of the campaign.
The 20-year-old had to undergo surgery and has since been working his way back to full fitness, leaving manager Paul Warne impressed with how well his recovery is going from such a serious injury.
Warne supplied that update back in January and the highly-rated centre-back has continued to spend a lot of time rebuilding his strength in the gym.
Rooney, the cousin of former Derby manager Wayne, isn’t expected to return to action before the end of season but the youngster has posted an encouraging update on social media.
He uploaded footage onto X, formerly Twitter, of him running alone on the training ground and captioned it: “Getting there”.
During the dark days of his recovery process, Rooney would have been dreaming of the moment he’d be able to run again and now the next step is to join up with his Derby teammates in first-team training.
That should be the aim for the talented defender between now and the end of the campaign as he aims to prepare himself for the upcoming season.
Jake Rooney will be a big player for Derby County next season
When Rooney suffered his serious injury against Bolton, he was 14 minutes into his third start of the season after impressing in victories over Fleetwood Town and Peterborough United.
The youngster, who was signed on a free transfer from Burnley in August 2022, earned his opportunity in the senior side after showing his quality towards the back end of the previous season.
Rooney is an exceptional ball-playing defender and in his few appearances this term, he averaged a 92% pass completion in his own half.
He looked promising alongside Eiran Cashin and Curtis Nelson while it appeared he had an opportunity to stake a regular claim in the first team.
With the remainder of the campaign to recover and the summer to get back to full fitness, the upcoming season could be a huge one for Rooney as many supporters will be calling for him to start.
Moreover, if Cashin leaves Pride Park to join a Premier League club in the summer, the youngsters’ chances of playing are increased even further.