Derby County suffered a 1-0 loss at the hands of Northampton Town this afternoon, but an even bigger blow was watching Nathaniel Mendez-Laing go off the field.
Derby County were beginning to build up a head of steam in the race for promotion. Four wins on the bounce, including a vital 1-0 victory over Bolton Wanderers last weekend, saw the Rams pull four clear of third.
Sadly, Derby couldn’t follow that up with a fifth win this afternoon as a first-half strike from Sam Hoskins secured three points for the hosts.
Paul Warne‘s men lost the battle in midfield as Ebou Adams looked fatigued and Conor Hourihane wasn’t at the races while Sonny Bradley’s sending-off compounded their misery.
Warne’s side also looked toothless in attack without the injured duo Tom Barkhuizen and Dwight Gayle. While their absences served as a devastating blow, the Rams have just received an even bigger one.
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing went off injured vs Northampton
The incredible contributions of Nathaniel Mendez-Laing have been crucial in their promotion mission. A record-breaking 15 assists and a tally of eight goals in League One have single-handedly dragged Derby towards the Championship.
In a season where the Rams have watched 13 of their players miss at least one game due to injury, Mendez-Laing’s place in the team has remained a constant having featured in every single league match.
With the quality he possesses centrally, or out wide, he’s the type of player Warne can ill-afford to lose and he even said previously that they are in big trouble if they do.
Unfortunately, the manager’s worst nightmares have come to fruition as Mendez-Laing was substituted with a suspected hamstring injury in today’s defeat.
Although the extent of it is yet to be confirmed, Warne’s comments after the game don’t sound promising. He told journalist Ed Dawes: “Nat’s out, he’s done his hammy.”
As Derby are left with an anxious wait on their star player, losing him could be detrimental to their promotion chances.
Losing Nathaniel Mendez-Laing would be a crushing blow
Losing the former Cardiff City winger, especially at this stage of the season, could see the promotion pendulum swing in the other direction.
Derby currently occupy second place with a four-point lead on third-place Bolton Wanderers, who have a game in hand.
It’s a gap that could soon diminish if Mendez-Laing misses the remainder of the campaign, or indeed, the next few matches.
The 31-year-old has produced record-breaking levels in the third tier, the type that no other player in the Rams squad can match, with Warne previously describing him as the “perfect” player to manage.
If Derby’s worst fears are realised, and Mendez-Laing is sidelined, automatic promotion could be lost in the blink of an eye.