Exciting Rangers loanee Josh McPake has suffered an injury blow, causing him to miss Morecambe’s League One opener at Ipswich Town at the weekend.
McPake spent the second half of last season on loan at EFL League Two side Harrogate Town, nailing down a place in the starting XI and scoring four goals.
He was rewarded upon his return to Rangers with a new deal that runs until 2024 and then sent to the Shrimps for another loan.
The step up in standard to League One was seen as the ideal challenge and when he netted against Premier League side Burnley in pre-season, it looked as though he was in form and ready for 2021/22 to begin.
However, injury has struck at just the wrong time and he’s now facing a spell on the sidelines.
McPake missed out on a 2-2 draw at Portman Road on Saturday and manager Stephen Robinson has admitted that he doesn’t know when the 19-year-old winger will return.
“Josh was out with an ankle injury, so we aren’t sure how long he’s going to be out for but he’s been really good,” said the former Motherwell boss [Daily Record].
Rangers inserted a January recall option into McPake’s loan but it would take truly outstanding form for him to be brought back to Ibrox, given that he would then be competing with the likes of Ryan Kent and Scott Wright for a place in the Rangers XI.
He certainly has the ability to make an impact for the Shrimps but this early-season injury is a cruel setback.
He’ll be looking to return to action as soon as possible to avoid losing the momentum he built up during the opening weeks of pre-season.
When fit again, he could come up against a player Rangers allowed to leave for nothing in 2020 who has recently been appointed captain of his current club.