Rangers’ injury problems could be becoming something seriously concerning for manager Steven Gerrard.
Since the start of the season, a plethora of his midfield talent have been injured. Ryan Jack, Ovie Ejaria, Graham Dorrans, Lassana Coulibaly, and Jordan Rossiter (of course) have all been sidelined.
Added to that, the likes of Kyle Lafferty and Alfredo Morelos have also missed out through injury and suspension.
There’s not a lot Gerrard can do about ill-discipline that he hasn’t already. The burning question here is why has there been so many early-season injuries?
Rangers are without both Ejaria and Jack for their biggest game of the season so far. This comes after a prolonged absence from both Coulibaly and Dorrans.
Is there something going on behind the scenes at the Hummel Training Centre that’s taking its toll on the players? Maybe the likes of Coulibaly and Ejaria are still getting up to speed with the speed of the game. Considering some of these players haven’t played first-team football in a while (or at all), this would be understandable.
An injury-prone squad?
The main worry is that some of these new signings are simply injury-prone. Whilst that doesn’t seem like it’s the case just yet, people can start discussing it given Rangers’ injury woes. The number of players missing since the start of the season makes this a valid concern.
Against Celtic and throughout Europa League qualifying, Rangers have been without a variety of their best players. Jamie Murphy’s injury can’t be counted given it was Kilmarnock’s horrendous artificial surface that did him in. The sooner that issue gets sorted out the better for the whole of Scottish football.
If the Gers are to have as successful campaign as their potential allows them, however, these injuries have to be sorted out soon. If they continue to mount up, it’ll lead to inconsistency in the long-term. In the short-term, it’ll impact results.
Given the fact it’s mainly affecting the midfield, Rangers have been getting away with it. The likes of Conor Goldson and Nikola Katic have managed to have an injury-free start to life at Ibrox.
If concerns start plaguing the back-line any-time soon, however, that’s where the real problems could occur. In the mean-time, Rangers have to press on to Villarreal with the squad they have.
Yet, there’s no doubt fans would be a lot more confident with both Ejaria and Jack available. Instead, they’re just another two incidents in what’s been a poor start to the season for injuries.
