Derek McInnes lauds Rangers recruitment team as injury makes deadline day addition 'even more' significant

Rangers boss Derek McInnes reckons it’s just as well they secured the signing of striker Kevin Kelsy on deadline day after club captain Lawrence Shankland hobbled off against Motherwell.

The in-form Rangers marksman came off after just six minutes at Ibrox after suffering a hamstring injury - which McInnes thinks could be similar to the one he suffered for Hearts last season that sidelined him for two months. With fellow first team striker Youssef Chermiti also sidelined for a ‘significant period of time’ with an ACL injury, the £9m signing of Kelsy - who came on as a substitute to make his debut against the Steelmen - has been further justified.

German hitman Ryan Naderi was called upon earlier than expected for Shankland. He scored the only goal of the game as he capitalised on an error from Motherwell goalkeeper Alex Paulsen. Rangers were subsequently awarded a first half penalty as attacker Kim Min-su stepped up in the absence of their usual taker but the Korean fired wide of the post. Despite the 1-0 scoreline, the victory was fairly comfortable in the end for the Light Blues, as McInnes’ men makes it three wins from three.

McInnes issues Shankland injury update

Before Motherwell, Rangers faced Falkirk on their artificial pitch. While the severity of Shankland’s hamstring knock is yet to be discovered, McInnes speculates that playing on different surfaces in quick succession may have been the cause. He said: “He (Shankland) thinks it’s similar to an injury he picked up at Hearts last January when he was out for three months,

“Obviously we don't want to speculate too much. But he says it feels similar to in the same area, so we'll get him scanned on Monday. You know, his output was really high on Wednesday at Falkirk on the 4G. Sometimes going that from pitch to pitch, you know, different surface can maybe make you a wee bit more vulnerable.”

If the injury is ‘similar’ to the one he suffered with Jambos, then striker would miss a run of upcoming key fixtures, including back-to-back Old Firms from next week onwards. He would also more than likely miss out on international duty with Scotland in their Nations League fixtures scheduled for later this month.

Injury to talisman makes deadline day addition ‘even more’ significant

After weeks of negotiations, Rangers acquired the signing of Kelsy from MLS side Portland Timbers just hours before the closure of the window. Originally drafted in as a replacement for Chermiti, the Venezuelan international now has two pairs of boots to fill at the top end of the pitch. When asked if he thought signing Kelsy has more significance after Shankland’s injury, McInnes was adamant in his response and was quick to credit the recruitment team.

He answered: “Yes, well even more so now. I think obviously if somebody had said to me walking in the door that Chermiti and Shankland were going to be injured with significant injuries, you know, you'd have felt the weight of that. And getting Kevin was such a good bit of business. The club deserves a lot of credit for that. And I thought he came on and got to the pitch of the game really well.”

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