A troublesome hamstring injury has ruled Rangers talent Zak Lovelace out of the England squad for the U17s World Cup in Indonesia.
The 17-year-old forward sustained the injury in the Scottish Premiership win over St Mirren having won Rangers a penalty to kickstart the 3-0 victory on the 8th of October.
Now, Rangers B team boss David McCallum has claimed that Zak Lovelace will now be out until January with the issue in a major blow to the young Rangers striker’s chances.
Speaking ahead of the B Team’s SPFL Trust Trophy clash with Airdrieonians, McCallum said:
“Zak Lovelace and Jack Harkness are out due to injury and it will look like they will hopefully return around January time but we work closely with them to get them back.”
England U17s injury blow for Rangers striker Zak Lovelace
Rangers fans will be bitterly disappointed for young Zak Lovelace, who has been in and around the first-team squad this season.
Signed as a 16-year-old after breaking through at English side Millwall as a 15-year-old, Rangers reportedly held off some top clubs down south to sign one of English football’s brightest striking talents.
With a clear pathway to the first team, Zak Lovelace has already made four appearances for the Rangers top team and there are expected to be more to come.
The news also explains why Zak Lovelace wasn’t included in the England U17s squad for the upcoming U17s World Cup in Indonesia.
Zak Lovelace has been a regular feature in the England youth set-up and was disappointed to miss out after the squad was announced last week.
However, Lovelace’s Rangers teammate and fellow England youth striker Archie Stevens has been included in the squad for the tournament in Southeast Asia.
Yet to feature under Philippe Clement, Zak Lovelace was one of two young players namedropped by Michael Beale as being close to the first team.
