Rangers loanee Josh McPake hasn’t played for over a month due to injury as his early-season woes continue.
McPake is a highly-rated young winger who signed a contract extension at Rangers in the summer following an encouraging stint in EFL League Two with Harrogate Town.
The Scotland youth international was then quickly shipped out on loan again, stepping up a division to join newly-promoted Morecambe.
He started well, netting in a friendly against Premier League side Burnley, but his pre-season was cut short by an ankle injury and his playing time has been limited ever since.
Initially, he was simply out of favour, only really making brief substitute appearances in the league, with his solitary 90-minute outing so far coming against Everton U23s in the EFL Trophy.
However, he hasn’t made a matchday squad since being an unused substitute at Wycombe Wanderers in early October and it recently emerged that he is injured.
McPake has missed five league fixtures in a row, ensuring that even though it’s now November, he’s seen just 322 minutes of competitive action for the Shrimps.
It’s far from ideal for the 20-year-old, who is looking to kick on in the English third tier following his bumper Ibrox extension.
A return to action does look to be nearing, though.
Morecambe physio Simon Farnworth asserted last week that McPake and two other injured players would be returning to training ‘over the next few days’ [Morecambefc.com], so while the Gers loanee didn’t make the squad for a defeat to Cambridge United on Tuesday evening, he could be in contention to feature in an FA Cup first-round match against Newport County on Saturday afternoon.
In other news, a former Rangers star has been confirmed as the new manager of a struggling Scottish club.
