Derby County star Nathaniel Mendez-Laing suffered an injury on Saturday afternoon in the 3-0 win over Barnsley, but Kane Wilson could be the ideal replacement.
The Rams battered the Tykes and were comfortable all game, with James Collins scoring a brace after his hat-trick in midweek, and Craig Forsyth also getting in on the goal-scoring action.
The Guatemala international was replaced early on in the second half, hobbling off after going down off the ball, with Wilson being his replacement.
How big of a loss is losing Mendez-Laing?
Losing Mendez-Laing is a big blow for manager Paul Warne.
The 31-year-old has arguably been Derby’s best player as of late, scoring in the last four games in all competitions, before the Barnsley game.
There has already been an update on Mendez-Laing’s injury, with it being confirmed that it was an injury to his knees which forced him off.
Luckily though he does not have to go away with Guatemala in the upcoming international break, and with Derby’s game against Reading being postponed next weekend, Mendez-Laing has two weeks to try and recover before a return to League One action.
Wilson the ideal replacement
But in the meantime, Wilson would be the ideal replacement.
The 23-year-old made the move to Pride Park in the summer from Bristol City and has made 12 appearances so far in the league this season, with only three of those being starts.
The winger has received plenty of praise over the last few weeks for his appearances off the bench. For his cameo off the bench on Saturday, journalist for the Derby Telegraph, Leigh Curtis, gave him a 7.5 out of ten for his efforts in his player ratings, saying: “Came on to great effect and created a superb chance for Cashin. Superb feet.”
It is highly likely that we will now see Wilson given a start in Tuesday night’s FA Cup first-round replay against Crewe. He will then have another chance to impress Warne in to hopefully giving him a consistent run of games in the future.