Rangers manager Philippe Clement is determined to rid Ibrox of the injury curse which has devastated the club’s squad in recent seasons.
The Gers’ failure to build on 55 sits at the feet of many but the club’s astonishingly poor handling of injuries in the squad has had its role to play.
Even now Rangers are still feeling the impact of recurring injury problems with several players sidelined and others still working their way back into fitness in order to have a tangible impact on the team.
After Philippe Clement led an overhaul of the club’s medical department in the summer, Rangers are now set to make another major appointment at Auchenhowie.
The news comes as the Rangers manager confirmed injury blows to no fewer than three Rangers players following the match with St Johnstone.
Rangers appoint new head physio
According to the Daily Record, Rangers are set to raid the Dons for highly-rated physio Kevin Bain.
The report claims that Bain will move to Auchenhowie as Rangers’ head physio with Bain considered one of the ‘top physios in the country with an impressive record of injury prevention’.
Kevin Bain moved to Pittodrie under the management of Jim Goodwin in 2022 and has since left enough of an impression in the position to be attracted towards Ibrox.
Rangers have made strides in solving their injury issues this season and Philippe Clement recently referenced the challenges of last season when the club had as many as 12 players out at a time.
It comes with Nicolas Raskin, Ridvan Yilmaz and Danilo having returned to the squad and Oscar Cortes, Rabbi Matondo and Tom Lawrence closing in on comebacks.
“We spoke about that last season, we had big periods with 12 players out,” said Clement. “Long periods like that.
“So Oscar (Cortes) did his first part of the training today, so he will need still a few more weeks to be ready to play games but it’s a positive thing.
“Tom Lawrence is also close. It’s in the next couple of weeks he will be back, Rabbi Matondo the same. And we want to keep it that way.”
Philippe Clement in three-player injury update
The news about Kevin Bain comes as Rangers manager Philippe Clement points to another three injuries in the Ibrox squad.
Unfortunately, Dutch defender Neraysho Kasanwirjo has been sent back to parent club Feyenoord after undergoing surgery.
Clement claims the defender’s recovery could take as long as six months with Kasanwirjo’s future at Rangers still unclear.
The Rangers manager had earlier confirmed that Dujon Sterling missed the clash with St Johnstone due to a trapped nerve.
The problem is not expected to keep the versatile right-back out for an extended period of time but Sterling will see a specialist this week.
Philippe Clement also suggested that under-fire Dutch defender Robin Propper came off against St Johnstone after suffering a ‘knock to his knee’.
This is after the centre-back came down with a sickness bug following the Europa League win over Nice.
It comes with the likes of Kevin Thomson suggesting Propper is ‘struggling to adapt’ to the rigours of Scottish football.
“(Propper) got a knock on his knee in the first-half and he was struggling with that,” said Clement following the win at McDiarmid Park. “And he’s also sick after the game (v Nice) so he felt really bad.”
