Significant Derby County injury blow revealed with April 2025 return date mooted | OneFootball

The right-back is set to miss the next four - six months of the season.

Derby County's Ryan Nyambe is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines, with the right-back out of action for the next four to six months after suffering a knee injury against Millwall on Saturday.

Paul Warne revealed the news to BBC Radio Derby's Dominic Dietrich on Tuesday evening following the Rams' 1-1 draw with Oxford United.

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing's first goal of the season cancelled out Dane Scarlett's earlier opener for the home side at the Kassam Stadium, with Kane Wilson filling in at right-back instead of Nyambe.

The point keeps Derby 12th in the Championship after 11 matches as they now prepare to welcome Hull City to Pride Park on Saturday following back-to-back matches on the road where Warne's side picked up their first away points of the campaign.

Ryan Nyambe out for next few months in bitter blow for Derby County

While the results this week have been better for the Rams compared to their previous escapes on their travels, it has come at a price with Nyambe set to be out until at least the end of February with a PCL injury.

Warne told Rams TV in his post-match interview that he does not expect the 26-year-old to need surgery, and also said that it should not be a reoccurring injury.

It's the second long-term injury that the right-back has had since arriving at Derby as a free agent last September, after he was forced to miss the end of the Rams' promotion campaign due to a quad injury picked up against Charlton Athletic in February.

He signed a new contract in the summer that is set to run until the end of the 2026/27 season, after only putting pen-to-paper on a new one-and-a-half year deal in December, and his manager described how much of a blow this new update is.

Warne told RamsTV: "It's heartbreaking for me, I really love the kid.

"I know everyone loves their players, so fans will listen to this and go 'yeah, he loves all his players'. But he, as you well know, is some kid and just wants to play and just wants to do well.

"The first thing he did was text me saying 'I feel like I've let you down, gaffer', and I was like 'what?'. He's some kid, so it's a massive blow from a personal point of view, but from a player point of view, I think he's been excellent."

Warne added: "Kane's [Wilson] a very good full-back, as is [Joe] Wardy. They've all got very different attributes, but I think Ryan's been one of our most consistent performers, so it's a blow for him and selfishly, it's a blow for me.

"So, it's sad news, but hopefully he'll come back stronger, well not stronger, but with a smile on his face. It's tough for a few days."

Kane Wilson now has the opportunity to make Derby County position his own

While the news is extremely disappointing, it does present Kane Wilson with the opportunity of becoming Derby's first-choice right-back for the foreseeable future.

The 24-year-old has been Warne's go to when Nyambe has been missing in the past, with Joe Ward's own fitness issues a cause for concern in the long-run, as he missed over half of last season.

Defensively, Wilson is not as strong as Nyambe, but he does provide fantastic attacking coverage on the right flank, and the Rams will be very dangerous on the wing going forward.

It does, however, mean that whoever plays just in front of the former Bristol City man will have to help out tracking back more than usual due to his forward-thinking style of play.

Derby will know that the next few months could be even trickier now without their best defensive right-back, but they can mitigate that loss with excellent wing-play that can put fear into any opponent in the Championship as they get ready for the visit of Hull at the weekend.