Derby County manager Paul Warne has predicted that striker Dwight Gayle could be out for four weeks after picking up an injury in the 1-0 win over Bolton Wanderers yesterday.
The 34-year-old has been in sensational form since joining the Rams last month. A free agent after leaving Stoke City, the veteran made the drop into League One as the East Midlands outfit targeted a top two finish.
After being eased into the team, Gayle scored his first goal for the club in a 3-0 win over Port Vale before netting in the next two outings. Derby headed into yesterday’s fixture against Bolton knowing three points would put them firmly in the driving seat in the race for automatic promotion but suffered an early blow when their new talisman limped off after just 21 minutes.
Fortunately for Warne’s side, the injury didn’t hamper their afternoon and they secured the victory when Kane Wilson scored the game’s only goal of the afternoon with 12 minutes remaining. The result now means that the East Midlands outfit have opened up a four point gap over their nearest rivals with only seven games left to play.
It proved to be a bittersweet afternoon for the manager, who revealed after the game that the former Newcastle United attacker now faces a spell on the sidelines. Although not able to provide a specific timescale, the 50-year-old did offer his best guess. Speaking to Derbyshire Live after the game, Warne said:
“It depends on how severe it is. It could be two weeks, four weeks, six weeks or eight weeks.
“My personal guess is that it will be four weeks. I have a lot of skills but medicine isn’t my top one. But hopefully, it won’t be too bad.”
Despite the blow, Warne did reveal that he could welcome back a trio of players for the season run-in:
“Tyreece John-Jules was up here for the game on Saturday and they’re now telling me there is a chance he may be fit for the end of the season. That would be a result. Conor Washington is fit and Martyn Waghorn is looking a bit more like it.”
Derby will look to further boost their promotion aspects next weekend when they take on Northampton Town at Sixfields.
Writer’s View
Dwight Gayle was brought in to bolster Derby’s attacking options, and it was a move that proved to be a masterstroke. It’s no coincidence that the Rams’ recent winning run has coincided with the striker’s arrival and losing him will be a huge blow.
The Rams can take solace in the fact that they now have a cushion to play with, but they are not likely to become complacent. It is important that they build on their latest victory against Northampton, although losing their new talisman will make the job a little tougher.
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