Rangers' injury list grows by one as Derek McInnes outlines January transfer window expectations amid crisis
Light Blues now have five players in the treatment room following injury to star
Rangers defender Ross McCrorie is the latest Ibrox hamstring casualty - but despite their ever-growing injury list, manager Derek McInnes still expects a quiet January transfer window.
Since signing from Bristol City in the summer, McCrorie has found it difficult to make his mark at Ibrox so far - and things have now gone from bad to worse as McInnes confirmed he’ll be out for ‘at least three weeks’. In more positive news, he also confirmed fellow full back Dujon Sterling is over his hamstring issue after a niggle over the international break. The utility man was brought off at half time during their 3-1 league victory over Kilmarnock last weekend, but that was due to an illness.
Having previously lost striker Lawrence Shankland and midfielder Cammy Devlin to hamstring injuries, McCrorie becomes the third player to suffer a similar knock only two months into the season. McInnes expects them to return in December, along with winger Daisuke Yokota, who is out with a groin injury. Striker Youssef Chermiti is hoping to return before the end of the season following his ACL tear in August.
McInnes issues Rangers injury update
Speaking to the media ahead of their trip to Dundee on Saturday night, the Rangers boss said: “The longer-term ones, Cammy, Lawrence, Youssef and Daisuke, are still making good progress. They’ve still got a wee bit to go. Dujon, who came off ill last weekend, actually went into the game feeling a wee bit under the weather. There was a combination of having a wee hamstring strain as well, but his hamstring was actually fine in the game. It was more of an illness thing.
“Unfortunately, Ross McCrorie has picked up a little hamstring issue. He felt it towards the back end of last week and we’ve had to revisit that again and go for a scan. Unfortunately, he’ll be out for the next three weeks. It’s nothing major, but enough to stop him training. The likes of Cammy, Daisuke and Lawrence are probably thinking about trying to get back for the start of December.
“There may well be a cup final there as some sort of carrot. We’ve still got a semi-final to deal with, of course. Youssef will be thinking he has to work towards trying to play before the end of the season if he can. There are all these little milestones that the physios and doctors will put in front of him. He’s just got to slowly but surely make his way forward.”
Manager expects quiet January despite injury concerns
Chairman Andrew Cavenagh said at a fan engagement meeting last week that Rangers fans shouldn’t expect a squad influx in January. McInnes has subsequently echoed those thought and revealed he’s had meetings with Cavenagh and CEO Jim Gillespie. He continued: “I think we can cope in terms of numbers. The conversations I’ve had with both Andrew and Jim [Gillespie] separately were a couple of weeks ago, after the Celtic game.
“We spoke about the need for January not to become an unsettling one for us. We spoke about the importance of keeping the squad together. We feel that, by the beginning of December, we could have the boys I’ve just mentioned back fit. That will feel like signing three new players, with Cammy, Daisuke and Lawrence bolstering the squad. What the chairman said reflects the conversation we’ve had. We don’t expect to be busy in January at all.”
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