Philippe Clement pledged to resolve Rangers’ devastating run of injury problems when he came in the door at Ibrox.
But even by the Belgian manager’s own admission, it’ll take more than waving a ‘magic stick’ to turn things around in Govan.
Injuries have devastated the Rangers squad for the best part of three seasons and even now the club are counting the cost of over £17m worth of talent being sidelined.
One name in that number – who was supposed to have returned by the weekend’s win over Hibs – remains out of the picture at a crucial juncture of the season.
Rangers wait on Ridvan Yilmaz update
Ridvan Yilmaz has had a challenging two-and-a-bit years at Rangers ever since signing a £5m deal to move to the club from Besiktas.
The Turkish international, 23, initially struggled to settle in Glasgow, with repeated injury problems ensuring Ridvan has also struggled to settle on the pitch.
Every time the left-back has begun to find some form with Rangers, injury has struck, and it was the same again as Yilmaz pulled up and was stretchered off in the Champions League defeat to Dynamo Kyiv at Hampden.
Days later on August 16th, Clement claimed that Ridvan Yilmaz was set to spend ‘four to six weeks’ on the sidelines.
This means that Yilmaz was initially expected to return in the 1-0 Scottish Premiership win over Hibs at the latest but the left-back wasn’t even named on the bench.
Naturally, the situation will give rise to fears over a more long-term injury and Philippe Clement can expect to field questions ahead of the Europa League clash with Lyon this week.
Rangers well-stocked at left-back
Rangers fans will now be left wondering when Ridvan Yilmaz is due to return to the squad this season.
One positive indicator surrounding the left-back concerns the fact Yilmaz has been included in Rangers’ Europa League squad.
This is not the case for Welsh winger Rabbi Matondo or Brazilian striker Danilo, who have been excluded from the set-up due to injury.
The current injury prognosis has tipped both of those players to return to the squad in time for the mid October trip to face Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.
Thankfully, Rangers also have a number of options at left-back in their squad with Brazilian left-back Jefte impressing in recent matches.
Versatile loanee Neraysho Kasanwirjo also impressed in the position in the 2-0 win over Malmo whilst academy talent Robbie Fraser has a presence in and around the first-team.
