Philippe Clement confirms major Rangers injury setback in title race
Philippe Clement confirms major Rangers injury setback in title race
Rangers manager Philippe Clement has confirmed that one of his key men has picked up a season-ending injury, in what is described by the Gers boss as a “big blow”.
Rangers face defining period in title race
The Gers really are now into the business end of the season, with the Scottish Premiership title race potentially set to go right until the final day of the campaign.
Next up for Rangers is Sunday’s home clash with Kilmarnock at Ibrox, at which point they could find themselves six points adrift of Celtic at the top of the table, assuming their rivals win at home to Hearts on Saturday afternoon. Clement’s men would have a game in hand, but it would certainly crank up the pressure on them, in what would become a must-win game if it wasn’t already.
There is no question that the Gers are the current underdogs to win the title, but there have been twists already this season, and they make the trip to Parkhead next weekend for what could be a truly defining fixture between the two adversaries.
Injuries have affected Rangers throughout the season, with left-back Ridvan Yilmaz one of those who has been absent since March, for example. Now, another significant fitness blow has emerged – one that supporters will be devastated to hear.
Clement confirms Goldson injury blow
Speaking to the press before Sunday’s clash with Kilmarnock, Clement confirmed that Rangers ace Connor Goldson won’t play again this season due to injury: “Wednesday in training, Connor hurt his knee bad, he will be out for the rest of the season after a scan.
“It is a big blow, he has played 48 games this season, one of the leaders. He said to me, he wanted to be in the dressing room to support the boys.”
This is a massive setback for Rangers at such an important point in the season, with Goldson such an experienced head whose nous in big games could have been so key in these remaining matches in 2023/24.
This season, the 31-year-old has featured prominently again for the Scottish giants, starting 30 matches in the league, averaging 3.4 aerial duel wins and 2.8 clearances per game in the competition. His longevity is outlined by the fact that Steven Gerrard lauded him back in 2019 during his time in charge at Ibrox, saying: “I must give him a special mention tonight and I can’t think of a word to Connor.
“He’s had one session, or half a session because of how light it was and to come in having not played since Celtic and trained ever so little, he was a mountain for this club tonight.”
The hope is that others can now fill the void left by Goldson, starting this weekend, but it is hard to shake the thought that his absence for the remainder of the season could end up being a big moment in the title race.