Ibrox View: Struggling Rangers flop must step up v Hamilton after crushing injury blow
RANGERS OPINION
As if Rangers being dumped out of the Scottish Cup by Hearts on Saturday evening wasn’t bad enough, the Gers were also dealt a crushing double injury blow too.
Both Scott Arfield and Ryan Jack were forced off with complaints during the 1-0 defeat, and neither look set to feature when Steven Gerrard’s men square off against Hamilton in the Scottish Premiership on Wednesday night.
And while Jack may be ready to return against Ross County on Sunday, it is understood that Arfield could be sidelined for a while longer.
That presents Gerrard with a problem.
The last thing he needs right now, as he battles to whip his side back into form, are absentees – especially when they play such a crucial role in his side.
In the immediate future, however, it probably means that the manager will be forced to call upon Glen Kamara in midweek.
And if he does, the Finland international must do a whole lot better than he had recently.
The 24-year-old has suffered a real slump in form in recent weeks, as exemplified by his poor showing in the 3-2 victory over SC Braga at Ibrox – his most recent outing.
In that match he registered just a successful action rate of just 51%, a far cry from his usual average of 75.3%, as per Wyscout.
Similarly, his pass completion rate was a whole 14.9% lower than his usual 89.9%, and he registered a paltry 29% defensive duel win ratio – Kamara’s average in that area is 63.6%.
Everybody has bad days at the office, sure, but his form has taken a nosedive of late, and it’s not obviously clear as to why.
Whatever the reason is, however, the midfielder must regather himself and perform better against Hamilton, or this bad spell that the Gers are enduring could take yet another embarrassing turn for the worse.
Gerrard’s men can ill-afford to be carrying a passenger in such a crucial area of the pitch, and Kamara has to come into this one looking a lot sharper than he has of late.
In other Rangers news, Ibrox View: Gers must revisit deal for 6’4″ giant this summer after latest report.