'It's heartbreaking' - Derby County reaction given to big Patrick Agyemang news | OneFootball

Derby County's Patrick Agyemang has suffered a serious Achilles tendon injury, which has ruled him out of the World Cup

Derby County kept their play-off hopes alive following their 2-0 home win over Stoke City on Monday, but one player has been dealt a major blow after picking up a long-term injury in the victory.

Under John Eustace, Derby have gone from relegation candidates this time one year ago to top six hopefuls at this stage, and sit just outside the play-off places with five games to go.

Having fallen to a 3-2 defeat on Saturday away to league leaders Coventry City, the Rams bounced back to cruise to a comfortable 2-0 home win over Stoke City, with goals from Jayden Banel and Carlton Morris sealing all three points for Derby.

Eustace was given the reins to build the Rams squad in his image over the summer, and after a shaky start, the decision to allow the former Birmingham City and Blackburn Rovers boss full control over building the squad is bearing its fruits.

However, with just five games to go, Derby will be without one of their key performers for the remainder of the season, which could prove to be a huge blow to their hopes of achieving a top-six finish.

Derby forward Patrick Agyemang is set to miss the rest of the season and the World Cup after a 'serious' Achilles tendon injury against Stoke

USMNT forward Patrick Agyemang led the line for Derby in their 2-0 victory over Stoke, but the American would be substituted just before half-time after going down with nobody around him, which has since been confirmed to be the result of a 'serious' Achilles injury.

The 25-year-old, who joined Derby during the summer from MLS side Charlotte for a potential £7.3 million, has scored ten and assisted three in 37 Championship games this season, and is now set to miss his home World Cup due to this latest blow.

Football League World's Derby fan pundit, Shaun, has shared their thoughts on the injury, and whether they think his absence will have a detrimental effect on the Rams' top six hopes, and whether they take any consolation in the fact that it may deter potential suitors this summer.

Shaun said: "First and foremost, I'm absolutely devastated for the young man. It's heartbreaking to see any footballer get an injury like that.

"There was no one around him when he landed. He looked around as if I think he felt like someone would give him a whack from behind, which normally indicates it's like a ruptured Achilles because, from what I've been told, you hear a bang, or you hear a whack. The fact that there was no one there, it doesn't look good. It looks really serious.

"I'm just absolutely devastated for him that he's going to miss his home World Cup. There's no consolation at all in the fact that we would probably have got good money from him in the summer, because you don't want to see any player get an injury like that that's going to keep him out for a long time, especially under these circumstances with the World Cup just a few months away.

"Yeah, I mean, as for our play-off hopes, I think it was slim anyway with Southampton having so many games in hand. But he's obviously

a key player to us, and it's a huge blow losing him, but that pales into insignificance really with what he's going to have to go through now and have to kind of go through his rehab and watch the World Cup from home. So yeah, gutted for him and I wish him all the very best."

John Eustace will be targeting a top-six finish with Derby County despite Patrick Agyemang's blow

Derby will have to contend with the remaining five games without the availability of Agyemang, but Eustace will refuse to let this blow define their chances.

The Rams still have the likes of Carlton Morris, Ben Brereton Diaz, Bobby Clark, Rhian Brewster, Jayden Banel, and Lars-Jorgen Salvesen in the forward areas, and possess enough firepower to continue challenging until the very end.

Their next clash away to Southampton will likely be pivotal in how the rest of their season pans out, with the Saints sitting just above them in the league table. Should they indeed make the play-offs, their job would be made a lot more difficult without the availability of Agyemang.

On a personal level, this injury will no doubt be completely devastating for Agyemang, who will likely never get the chance to represent his home country in a home World Cup again, having looked incredibly likely to make Mauricio Pochettino's squad.

Interest in the forward will probably be subdued over the summer due to the injury, which may come as a silver lining for Derby, though they would almost certainly have preferred him to avoid injury ahead of the final phase of the campaign.