As Rangers welcomed the signing of Jack Simpson, another talented young defender has suffered some particularly frustrating injury news.
Steven Gerrard has been clear that four fully fit centre-halves are what is required for a title tilt and to free up space for Simpson frozen-out George Edmundson has moved to Derby County.
But Croatian powerhouse Nikola Katic has been hit by the news that he won’t play for Rangers this season after a setback in his recovery from a cruciate ligament injury.
Steven Gerrard said in his press conference ahead of the match with St. Johnstone that Niko Katic is “not going to be available this season” and said “we’re going to have to assess and analyse” Niko’s situation moving forward [Rangers].
It’s a huge blow for the 24-year-old fans’ favourite even if Rangers are well stocked in the position.
But what does it say about Katic’s future?
With Goldson, Helander, Balogun, Simpson and the returning Edmundson all seemingly ahead of him, getting the necessary game time to recover from that awful injury won’t be easy.
Balogun too looks set to sign on for at least another season.
A solution – and one which can help the Gers star recapture the kind of form which had the Ibrox support chanting his name – surely has to be an appropriate loan move.
A player primed for international stardom with Croatia, this injury has come at an awful time in his career and there is much hard work ahead for Katic in his recovery.
A loan elsewhere where Katic is playing every week could prime him to return to a squad by season 22/23 when there’s a space in Gerrard’s defensive four at a time when the defender is capable of filling it.
Here’s how Rangers fans reacted to the signing of Jack Simpson as the Ibrox side brought his pre-contract deal forward via a loan move.
