Derby County will always rue ACL injury to 2017/18 loan star | OneFootball

The striker was starting to hit form for the Rams under Gary Rowett before his season was ended early.

When Gary Rowett took over Derby County in March 2017, there was no doubt that his aim was to take the club back to the Premier League in the next few years.

While he inherited a weaker squad by the Rams' high standards throughout the 2010s, he quickly set about in the 2017/18 summer transfer window to make improvements to it, and build a team that was capable of mounting a promotion push once again.

The likes of Andre Wisdom and Curtis Davies were brought in to add stability and experience to the backline, while Tom Lawrence added flair and goals from both the wing and in a role behind the striker when needed.

However, one move that perhaps did not quite have the fanfare that some of the others had impressed supporters the most, with Sam Winnall playing a key role in Derby's first-half of the season after joining on loan from Sheffield Wednesday.

Sam Winnall did not take long to have an impact at Derby County

Not much was known about the then 26-year-old when he made the switch to Pride Park on deadline day in August 2017, but after struggling for game-time with the Owls, Winnall was keen to show what he could do in the Championship.

It did not take him long to give Rams supporters a taste of his qualities, scoring in just his third league game against Birmingham City, earning his side a point at home.

While goals were not the easiest of things to come by for the striker, he found the back of the net three times in two games at the end of October, starting his team's play-off push after a stuttering opening couple of months.

His two strikes against Leeds United proved decisive, earning the Rams their first win at Elland Road since 2013, sending his side up to 6th.

Fitness issues would see the loanee struggle for regular minutes over the next couple of months, but a stunning performance against Ipswich Town gave fans hopes that he was going to play an even bigger role in the second-half of the campaign.

He scored Derby's Goal of the Season Award against the Tractor Boys in a fantastic 2-1 win at Portman Road that ensured the East Midlands club ended 2017 in the top two, but 2018 proved to be an incredibly tough one for him personally.

Sam Winnall's ACL injury will always be bemoaned by Derby County

It had been a decent start to life at Pride Park for the striker, but things were about to get a lot more difficult after the turn of the year.

Inconsistent game-time saw Winnall playing in a variety of positions across the front line, and it was in a comfortable 3-0 win over Brentford in February when his season turned upside down.

The Wolverhampton-born ace came on half an hour to play at Pride Park on a cold Saturday afternoon, winning a penalty to secure the victory, before he went down off the ball. Although he returned to the pitch to see out the match, it was revealed just days later that he had suffered an ACL injury.

Winnall's season and Derby career were over in a flash, at an incredibly important time in the campaign. The Rams went on an eight-game streak without winning, and it seemed as though they were missing the talented striker's touch going forward.

Rowett did get the club to the play-offs in 6th place, but they were beaten by Fulham 2-1 over the two legs, ending their chances of a return to the Premier League 10 years after they last played in the division.

The injury to Winnall had a drastic impact on Derby, and if he had not suffered the devastating blow, then the Rams may have just continued their battle for a top two finish.