This article is part of Football League World's 'Player View' series, this content strand is where we put ourselves in the shoes of a given player, and offer an opinion-based outlook on the situation at hand…

Quite simply, Greg Cunningham must feel like he hasn't been able to catch a break for the past year or so.

Having been given every footballer's dream opportunity in the summer of 2018 when he left Preston to join newly-promoted Premier League side Cardiff City, the left-back was then forced to endure a season of frustration, as he was limited to just seven league appearances, while watching his new club suffer an immediate relegation back to the Championship.

Then, as a reminder of his standing in the Welsh capital, Cunningham was shipped out on a season-long loan to Cardiff's Championship rivals Blackburn Rovers on the final day of the most recent summer transfer window.

After that, things had started to look up for Cunningham.

Having immediately claimed the left-back spot at Ewood Park as his own following a string of impressive performances, it looked as though Cunningham had been set to enjoy a season of regular football, where he could either show his parent club that he was still worth taking a chance on, or catch the attention of another side potentially in the market for a left-back, giving him the chance to continue a more productive career elsewhere.

Barely two months later however, that plan is one that sadly looks a long way from coming to fruition indeed.

After being forced off early in Blackburn's 4-2 defeat at QPR on Saturday, Cunningham took to Twitter on Thursday to reveal that he had torn his ACL during the game, something that has now left the defender facing a season stuck on the sidelines, and that is the last place he will have wanted to be right now.

Not only does this injury mean Cunningham has been denied the opportunity to play for potentially the rest of the season, but he may also see it as a significant blow to his hopes for the future.

With the 28-year-old facing so long out of action, he may well fear that his chance to force his way back up the pecking order with Cardiff is gone, particularly given his position there at the start of this campaign.

Add to that the fact that Blackburn themselves may now be forced to look elsewhere for defensive reinforcements - especially with there being so long left in the season - he may well be wondering if his chances of a permanent return to the club where he had quickly and deservedly become a hugely popular figure thanks to both his performances on the pitch and his comments off it, could also be hanging in the balance.

Despite that, Cunningham must still remain optimistic that he has a chance of returning to this level of the game once he recovers from this injury.

At 28-years-old, the left-back will surely know that he still has plenty of time left in the game to make an impact, and he need only look at the recent return of his brief Blackburn teammate Dominic Samuel - who at 25 is not that different in age to Cunningham - after more than a year out with his own ACL problem, to know that his time in the game is far from over.

Indeed, with Blackburn manager Tony Mowbray having already allowed Ben Gladwin to remain with the club past the end of his contract at Ewood Park to give the midfielder the chance to prove himself worthy of a new deal after two years out with his own string of injury problems, there is reason to hope that Mowbray may be willing to give Cunningham another chance next summer, if he wants it.

Even if that doesn't happen, Cunningham should be more than confident in the abilities he has shown previously to know that an opportunity will come along for him sooner rather than later, particularly with the attitude he has shown - even during his brief time at Blackburn - suggesting to teams that this is a player who will do everything he can to get back up to peak fitness and ability.

This is undoubtedly a setback for Cunningham, but he should be confident that given what he has shown both on and off the pitch previously, this should be nothing more than that.

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