Rangers ace Ianis Hagi could miss start of next season says int’l manager
Rangers could have already been dealt a blow ahead of the 2022-23 season with midfielder Ianis Hagi possibly ruled out of the opening games through injury.
The Romanian suffered a nasty injury in the Light Blues’ Scottish Cup tie against Stirling Albion and has already been ruled out for the rest of this season [Daily Record].
The latest information though suggests Hagi could be out of action for another five or six months which would see him miss the start of next season as well.
Romanian national team manager Edi Iordanescu has revealed his conversation with the Rangers ace and it is not good news.
“I spoke to him twice and he may be unavailable for five to six months. It’s very unfortunate for him,” Iordanescu said, as quoted by the Daily Record.
“I don’t want to put pressure on him to rush back, but of course, we need our best players for Romania.
“It’s very unfortunate because Ianis was going through a really good period in his career. He had started to really prove he could do it.
“I’ve even spoken to his father about his injury too. I want to support Ianis as much as I can. I have assured him I will be there for him when he is ready and we trust him to come back stronger. I told him to take all the time he needs. Even if he doesn’t play immediately, he will be back in my squad.”
Kick in the teeth
It’s a nightmare for Hagi and Giovanni van Bronckhorst won’t be much happier about the news either.
Hagi can be one of Rangers’ stars when he is at his best but with such an extended period on the sidelines, he might take an awful long time to get back to that level.
He has since seen Aaron Ramsey arrive at Ibrox and teenager Alex Lowry take his opportunity in the first team which could have pushed him further down the pecking order.
It is important that van Bronckhorst and the Rangers side don’t completely forget about Hagi when he eventually returns to fitness as his ability on the ball is arguably unrivalled in the Scottish Premiership.
His time at Ibrox isn’t necessarily over yet despite the midfield reinforcements but he has a major task on his hands to force his way back in.
In other Rangers news, Hibernian manager Shaun Maloney was not pleased that they didn’t get a penalty at Ibrox on Wednesday (9 February).