Soccer is a merciless mistress at occasions, with Glasgow Rangers skipper Lawrence Shankland struck down by damage, simply as he’d begun to search out his groove at Ibrox.
Following an preliminary gradual begin for the 31-year-old, Shankland had been the hero heading into Saturday’s assembly with Motherwell, scoring three targets in simply two Premiership outings previous to that.
Mere minutes into the weekend win, nonetheless, the Scotland worldwide noticed his latest momentum curtailed by a hamstring blow, now doubtlessly dealing with three months on the sidelines in consequence.
Even with Youssef Chermiti absent himself, the Gers do a minimum of have choices within the centre-forward ranks, albeit having doubtlessly already let the right different go away for nothing.
How Rangers can change Shankland after damage nightmare
With the Outdated Agency looming on Sunday, the information of Shankland’s prolonged setback could not have come at a worse time, not least with the skilled striker sometimes so lethal towards Celtic, netting eight occasions in simply 16 conferences with the membership thus far.
Alas, this will probably be the place Derek McInnes’ power in depth is examined, with it honest to say the Mild Blues have invested on this division, signing 5 strikers in simply the house of 12 months at Ibrox.
With Chermiti out of the equation, McInnes’ first-choice choose may effectively be Ryan Naderi, the German making an on the spot impression off the bench towards the Steelmen.
Nonetheless within the early days of his Rangers profession, the 23-year-old’s document of six targets in 19 video games is not too eye-catching, with the arrival of latest man Kevin Kelsy set to supply intense competitors for locations.
The £9m Venezuelan, who debuted final outing, has scored ten targets already in 2026 again in the US, 9 of which got here in MLS for Portland Timbers.
Throwing him into the combination within the derby is perhaps a little bit of danger, nonetheless, with there nonetheless forgotten man, Bojan Miovski, to think about, the Macedonian extra related in model to Shankland as a pure goalscorer.
The 27-year-old has been restricted to simply ten minutes of Premiership motion this season, having scored 13 targets in a disappointing debut marketing campaign for the ex-Girona and Aberdeen man.
Fairly who McInnes goes for stays to be seen, but for all of the funding on the prime finish of the pitch, Rangers is perhaps rueing a notable departure of the latest previous.
Rangers already offloaded Scotland’s “future quantity 9”
Each since and previous to Alfredo Morelos’ exit, the centre-forward place has been such a problem at Ibrox, with a string of high-profile names failing to flourish in a Rangers shirt.
|
Chosen Latest Rangers Strikers |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Participant |
Video games |
Objectives |
|
Dessers |
116 |
51 |
|
Danilo |
76 |
16 |
|
Igamane |
49 |
16 |
|
Chermiti |
44 |
15 |
|
Miovski |
45 |
13 |
|
Lammers |
31 |
2 |
|
Fabio Silva |
25 |
6 |
|
Naderi |
19 |
6 |
|
Shankland |
10 |
4 |
Be it Cyriel Dessers, Sam Lammers or Danilo, amongst others, far too many have underwhelmed amid this era of turbulence and managerial upheaval.
Shankland, when match and firing, ought to hopefully buck the development, but even then, the ex-Hearts man may not have been wanted within the first place if Rangers had put religion of their academy ranks.
Certainly, younger Robbie Ure stays a story of 1 that received away so far as the Glasgow giants are involved, with the 22-year-old now wanting like a possible star of the long run for each membership and nation.
Beforehand a part of the Rangers’ youth set-up, Ure did really make three first-team appearances for the membership, scoring within the League Cup towards Queen of the South. The final of these outings, in the meantime, got here within the Premiership as an alternative towards St Mirren again in November 2022.
By the summer time of 2023, the younger Glaswegian was on his means after rejecting a contract extension at Ibrox, as an alternative becoming a member of Anderlecht’s reserve crew on a free switch.
12 targets in 38 video games in Belgium’s second tier adopted, and whereas he solely made one look for Anderlecht’s senior aspect, he has flourished remarkably effectively since then.
Hailed solely not too long ago because the “future Scotland No.9” by analyst John Walker, Ure proved prolific after becoming a member of Swedish outfit Sirius in March 2025, netting 31 targets in simply 50 video games for the membership in all competitions.
His type within the first-half of 2026 was really outrageous, scoring 15 targets in simply 15 Allsvenskan video games, in addition to netting 5 occasions in simply 5 home cup video games.
For context, as already famous, Kelsy has scored simply ten targets this calendar 12 months again in Portland, whereas for Shankland, he is scored 11 for the reason that flip of the 12 months, seven of which got here again at Hearts.
Ure is the person with actual momentum behind him, having solely not too long ago sealed a £9m transfer to LaLiga outfit, Sevilla, successful a penalty on debut towards Rayo Vallecano, whereas additionally registering an help towards Atletico Madrid.
Nonetheless solely 22, Ure seems like being the person to guide Scotland’s new period because the centre-point of the assault, able to rival Shankland for that coveted beginning spot.
To suppose Rangers let him slip from their grasp really is irritating, not least contemplating the thousands and thousands spent on attempting to unravel this drawback place in latest occasions.
