Kyle Lafferty missed training for Northern Ireland as an injury concern rocks Rangers’ striking options.
Steven Gerrard will be eagerly awaiting news on his striker in the coming days. Lafferty, who just signed for the club from Hearts in the summer, was told to sit out training whilst on international duty.
The forward picked up a knock in a poor 2-1 home defeat to Bosnia on Saturday. This led to the striker having to be substituted off for Michael O’Neill’s men.
Lafferty is set to miss the contest with Israel tomorrow through the knock picked up. Yet there could be a bit of hope that he’ll be fine for the visit of Dundee this Saturday.
O’Neill was touching on the issue today in his press conference where he stated that the forward was simply being rested. Despite missing training and picking up the concern, the Northern Ireland manager doesn’t think it’s anything to be concerned about.
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What to make of it
It’s difficult to know what to make of the injury for now.
If it wasn’t as bad as first feared, surely Lafferty would be appearing tomorrow against Israel. The towering striker is Northern Ireland’s talisman, and he’s the first-choice striker by a distance.
More concerning to Rangers would be where a potential injury would leave Gerrard in terms of selection. Granted, Alfredo Morelos is still the first-choice forward. But the Colombian’s temperament can’t be relied upon.
Umar Sadiq is the third-choice front-man, but fans aren’t yet sure of his abilities.
The positive for the Rangers manager is that any injury is surely short-term. The Northern Irishman is still settling into life at the club, and could’ve done with the visit of Dundee.
It wouldn’t be a big disaster if the former Burnley and Norwich striker misses out on Saturday. Lafferty is a handful, but Gerrard will be confident that his side have more than enough to see off Neil McCann’s men.
Regardless, continuing to develop the two up front system would’ve been ideal. Instead, it could be the case Gerrard has to make do with just Morelos up top for now.