Just as Rubin Colwill was consistently producing the kind of form many had hoped and expected him to deliver years earlier, the Welshman's progress was halted by a cruel ankle injury.
It kept the 23-year-old out of action for almost three months, but thankfully - for both Cardiff City head coach Brian Barry-Murphy and Wales manager Craig Bellamy - Colwill senior has been on the comeback trail for the past month.
The Neath-born attacker produced a timely reminder of his talents just three days before Bellamy named his squad for the upcoming World Cup play-offs.
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Indeed, Colwill netted twice as the Bluebirds returned to winning ways with an impressive 4-0 win at Exeter City.
It was the playmaker's sixth league goal of the campaign and ensured he has netted in back-to-back fixtures, having scored in a 1-1 draw against Barnsley at Oakwell four days earlier.
Colwill regularly showed glimpses of promise under previous managers, but he has never delivered consistently like he has, and is, under Barry-Murphy.
The pair are clearly a perfect match.
"I think the first goal was a really good finish and the second one I’ve been working on getting in the box, in those areas," said Colwill after the win over Exeter.
"The manager and staff showed me some clips before the game, the runs I make and how to make them a little bit better, and I thought I did exactly as they said and got a goal from it."
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Crucially, Barry-Murphy now appears destined to have a fully fit Colwill at his disposal for the remainder of his side's promotion run-in.
“I feel like I’m back in my rhythm," added Colwill.
"The physio and fitness lads really helped me a lot, my rehab was really smooth, there were a lot of long days working really hard and I’m feeling really good for it now, thankfully.
"With regards to this run-in, I’m feeling fresh, but I was doing a lot of work in the gym to get here. I’m feeling really good at the minute. I’m feeling strong and looking forward to kicking on."
In a further boost, it was announced that Colwill has signed a new deal until the summer of 2030, such is the club's faith in his talents.
Even the much-maligned owner Vincent Tan deserves praise for the way Cardiff have gone about their business since relegation.
“Investing seriously like this in our talented young players for the long term is part of our football strategy and I’m very confident that Rubin will continue to push us forward," the Malaysian owner said of Colwill.
"He is one of ours and he’s with us for this next journey."
Colwill’s outing against Exeter was particularly eye-catching and earned him a spot - alongside team-mate Cian Ashford - in WhoScored.com's League One team of the week.
And the numbers of his season so far as a whole - admittedly at League One level - make for encouraging reading, despite his lengthy absence through injury.
With six league goals to his name, Colwill is scoring at a rate of 0.32 goals every 90 minutes from an expected goals figure per 90 of 0.33, meaning he is delivering almost exactly as expected in front of goal.
He is creating 2.4 chances per 90, comfortably the best in Cardiff's ranks, with his expected assists per 90 figure of 0.28 also being the most of any Cardiff player this season.
To their credit, Cardiff have coped admirably without Colwill - in addition to top scorer Yousef Salech - for long spells this season.
A strong finish to the campaign will stand Colwill in good stead as he looks to help fire Cardiff back into the Championship at the first attempt.
There is no doubt that Colwill and other young guns have benefitted immensely from Barry-Murphy's style of play since the Irishman was named as the club's head coach last summer.
Even in the aftermath of their loss to Lincoln City and draw with Barnsley, Barry-Murphy was quick to praise his players for the way they have stuck to his methods this term.
"I'm just so grateful for the players that they remain so focused on playing our way, the Cardiff City way, and not showing any signs of going away from that, in spite of what can be disappointing results," he said.
The challenge for Colwill and co, providing that they go on to achieve promotion over the coming weeks, will be to deliver at a higher level next season.
But the player who went with Wales to the 2022 World Cup as a teeenager is among those who will undoubtedly have Barry-Murphy to thank in years to come for elevating his career at a point where it was so sorely needed.
