Lawrence Shankland damage assessed as pundit raises major Rangers injury 'concern' beyond three month sideline
Captain suffered a similar injury with Hearts in January
Rangers are set to be without striker Lawrence Shankland for the next three to four months - but pundit Michael Stewart believes his fitness is now a ‘major concern’ beyond that period.
The captain was visibly in pain during the Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Motherwell and in turn, was substituted in in the eighth minute. Manager Derek McInnes has since confirmed that Shankland tore his hamstring in a similar injury he suffered while at Hearts in January. The Scotland international was out for over two months for the Jambos last season and is expected to be out for even longer this time around.
Shankland was just hitting his stride in a Rangers jersey before the knock with three goals in two games, making the blow a lot harder to take for McInnes - who already has lost striker Youssef Chermiti for a ‘significant period’ after he picked up an ACL injury last month. With hitmen Kevin Kelsy, Ryan Naderi and Bojan Miovski all raring to go, the Ibrox side should have enough cover at the top end of the pitch to keep them ticking over in Shankland’s four-month absence - but Stewart believes the problems could extend beyond that.
Shankland’s fitness ‘a major concern’ going forward
In his post-match interview on Saturday, McInnes had an inkling straight away that it was a hamstring issue for Shankland having seen him suffer the same fate for Hearts nine months prior. Former Jambos captain Stewart believes that at the striker’s age, if it becomes a recurring issue then it could be a ‘major concern’ for Rangers going forward.
Speaking on Premier Sports’ Scottish Football Social Club podcast, he said: “The manager was pretty quick after the game knew it looked like the injury that he had in January at Hearts. So, that in itself is a major concern for me because Lawrence Shankland is what 31-year-old now? And that's two pretty bad hamstring injuries in the space of nine months.
“I'm just thinking in terms of longevity. It's like once you pick up an injury, there's like that general weakness and scar tissue that's there, and for it to happen twice in quick succession is worrying. It's so disappointing for him to be missing out on these big games and for Rangers moving forward.”
McInnes reveals severity of Shankland injury
The Rangers boss confirmed the damage earlier this week. He said: “He's (Shankland) had his scan with confirmation that he's had a tear, it's a 2cm tear in his hamstring, very similar to the one he did previously at Hearts in January. He's actually in London now getting a follow-up ultrasound scan, which is just to determine with the specialist whether he has surgery or whether we just let that heal naturally as it did the last time.
“We'll probably have a better idea after that scan and the discussion with the specialist as to exactly how long the injury is going to be. With the little knowledge I have of it, if he has the surgery then it might be another three or four weeks, but if he has the surgery then it lessens the risk of it happening again. All these things will probably be confirmed within the next 48 hours or so, but unfortunately for us and for Lawrence it's a significant amount of time out.”
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