Nahki Wells’s final game of the season ended on the half-hour mark on Saturday when he limped off with an injury in Huddersfield Town’s 4-1 win away to Watford.

Wells, who moved to Huddersfield in January when he became the first Bermudian footballer to command a million-pound transfer fee, finished three short of the 25-goal target that he set for himself at the beginning of the season.

It was still an impressive return, however, as Wells played 22 games in the Sky Bet Championship and netted seven times to add to the 15 goals he tallied in 21 appearances for Bradford before his move.

“Been a good season for me and the last half was very important,” Wells tweeted on the weekend. “Time to rest up now and get ready for next season.”

Wells’s injury in the first half against Watford indirectly helped to save the Huddersfield career of the player who replaced him, as Danny Ward came on and scored a hat-trick in a furious second half that included all the goals.

Ward, 23, is one of several Huddersfield players who are out of contract, but a new deal is about to be offered in the wake of his last-day performances.

“It’s been a pleasure to play and meet the lads who will not be returning to Hudds next season, you all have been great and wish you all the best,” Wells tweeted.

Huddersfield, who finished seventeenth in the 24-team Championship, have released eight players on free transfers as they begin the process of rebuilding the team before next season.

Peter Clarke, the captain, Calum Woods and Keith Southern are among those who were released. Clarke, a centre back, fellow defender Woods and midfielder Southern will not be offered new deals when their contracts expire in the summer.

Goalkeeper Ian Bennett, midfielders Chris Atkinson and Anton Robinson, plus strikers Cristian Lopez and Paul Mullin have also been released.

Ward will be offered a new deal and the club are extending defender Murray Wallace and goalkeeper Ed Wilczynski’s existing deals. Striker Harry Bunn is still in talks over his future.

Ward’s last-day treble resulted in him finishing as the club’s second leading scorer behind James Vaughan, whose long spells out through injury left Wells to carry a heavy responsibility in his absence.

The club, and Wells, are expecting bigger things next season.