At the risk of jinxing it, Rangers’ injury issues do appear to be easing a little.
Yes, the luckless Danilo is facing another spell on the sidelines after a second knee surgery. Yes, Rabbi Matondo’s sparkling form has been broken by an injury of his own.
But with Nicolas Raskin and Oscar Cortes back on the pitch, and Ridvan Yilmaz returning to training, things are looking up at Ibrox as the treatment room – previously more packed than Glasgow Central at rush hour – starts to empty out again.
With Philippe Clement reluctant to throw Rangers’ new deadline day arrival Nedim Bajrami straight in and with Matondo set for another few weeks out of action, Cortes’ return felt particularly timely.
The Colombian feels like a ‘new signing’. And not only because he arrived back for a second loan spell from RC Lens back in June.
Talking of ‘new signings’ in the proverbial sense, West Bromwich Albion must feel as if they have got one of their own with Josh Maja bouncing back from a debut season ruined by injury at The Hawthorns.
Rangers could have had West Brom striker Josh Maja
According to Rangers Review, there was interest from Ibrox in Maja before he joined West Brom on a free transfer back in August 2023.
After only one start and one Championship goal last term – the striker waylaid for months at a time with two serious ankle blows – there would not have been too much disappointment on Rangers’ part after missing out on the former Sunderland and Bordeaux striker to The Baggies.
But now, a month into the new campaign, the narrative around Josh Maja is changing. And fast.
A 65 minute hat-trick in the opening day victory over Queens Park Rangers was a sign of things to come; a striker champing at the bit and desperate to make up for lost time.
Leading the line like a man possessed, Maja has now struck twice more against Stoke City and Portsmouth. He has West Brom to the top of the Championship table while averaging a goal every 85 minutes.
“Maja got off to a fantastic start on the opening day at QPR. He looks like a proper striker and a real handful,” Albion legend Don Goodman told Radio 5 Live recently, highlighting the role he played in the 1-0 win over Swansea even with the 25-year-old turning provider on this occasion.
“What I loved was, against Swansea, Maja won his team the game by being unselfish and squaring the ball to Jayson Molumby. That’s a striker who is in form and is seeing the bigger picture.
“I love that. It’s been a solid start and long may it continue.”
Only training Erling Haaland in the striker charts
Solid? Some would say spectacular. Only one player – who else but Erling Haaland – has scored more goals in England’s top five leagues than Maja so far in 2024/25.
Suddenly, a player the Ibrox faithful might have been glad to see slip through their fingers is starting to show why Rangers were keen on him in the first place.
With Danilo’s injury nightmare keeping the striker in a state of paralysis and Cyriel Dessers as inconsistent as ever, Maja’s record of a goal every 85 minutes and five from an XG of 3.5 suggests that he might just have been the reliable, goal-a-game finisher Clement needed.
“We know he is an important player for us. We couldn’t enjoy Josh too much last year because he had two injuries in the same place,” Baggies boss Carlos Corberan said after Maja continued his flying start in Sunday’s 3-0 win at Portsmouth, via Sky Sports.
“He worked very hard when the rest of the team was resting to arrive into the season at the level he is right now.
“Normally, in life things are not coincidences, they are consequences of things. His mentality, his commitment and hard work are now giving him the consequences.”
