Rangers defender Niko Katic has been ruled out for the “foreseeable future” in a crushing injury blow to the young Croatian defender.
Having only recently signed a new contract, the progress the defender had made on the pitch was clear and at 23 this would’ve been a key season in the player’s development.
You only had to look at the work Niko was putting in during the off-season to see how committed he was to this upcoming one.
Rangers remain relatively well-stocked at centre back but make no mistake, this is a big blow for the club, Katic and for the fans, for whom Niko is a firm favourite.
The club’s supporters united to wish the centre-half the best of luck in his recovery and there’s not a bluenose out there who isn’t eager to see the 6ft4 centre-half make his return.
That said, Connor Goldson and Filip Helander were more than likely to be Steven Gerrard’s first-choice pairing at the back.
George Edmundson was also beginning to show what he could do prior to the shutdown and was being preferred to Katic.
But now there will be a vacant fourth place spot in the defence and if Gerrard’s time at Rangers is anything to go by there will be games for whoever occupies it.
It leaves the club with an interesting dilemma – promote from within or secure a short-term transfer or loan solution from elsewhere.
Getting an experienced head in for a solitary season isn’t actually too bad an idea, whilst securing the loan talents of a youngster from down south or further afield could also reap benefits.
At Rangers, there are two, perhaps three, young centre-halves who’ll be itching for an opportunity to show what they can do.
The most obvious of these is young Lewis Mayo, who spent a brief spell at Partick Thistle after January and who played (and scored) in the 5-0 friendly win against Oxford last season.
With the club’s fans desperate to see their best young talent come through, this could the season where 20-year-old Mayo stakes his claim for a place in the squad.
Rhys Breen is another 20-year-old who has come through the academy but he has not been as close to the first team as Mayo has been in recent times.
Youngster Leon King – the top talent wanted by clubs down south prior to signing a new contract – is only 16.
Whilst big things are to come from Leon, he perhaps remains a touch too young for now.
Whatever the case, Katic’s injury has now given Steven Gerrard some thinking to do over what happens next.
Promote from within, or look elsewhere?
