Kemar Roofe and Fashion Sakala battle to replace Alfredo Morelos for Rangers v Celtic
By Ben Brown
Kemar Roofe and Fashion Sakala look set to be competing for a spot in the Rangers starting line-up to play Celtic after Alfredo Morelos returned from international duty on crutches, according to the Scottish Sun.
The newspaper claims the Colombian picked up a thigh injury whilst away with his country and was pictured at Glasgow airport on Thursday reportedly departing for a scan with a specialist in London.
It means he is almost certain to miss the Gers’ Old Firm clash against Celtic on Sunday, whilst he could also be absent for the first leg of the Europa League last-eight tie against Braga next week.
His most likely replacements come in the shape of Roofe and Sakala, with both players likely to be fresh after missing the recent international break through illness.
Hefty Dilemma
An injury to a key player at any stage of the season is a blow, but with such crucial games coming up Rangers and Giovanni van Bronckhorst need to decide on their replacement option fast.
Both Sakala and Roofe have played second fiddle to El Bufalo for much of the season, with the former seemingly preferred in a wide role when on the pitch rather than directly through the middle.
That said the pair still boast an impressive goal return between them, both netting seven league goals in appearances which have largely come from off the bench.
Roofe seems the most likely option however, having netted a crucial winner against Aberdeen last month and most recently assisting Connor Goldson’s late strike against Dundee to help keep Rangers within touching distance of the league leaders.
A victory this weekend moves the Ibrox side level on points with their bitter rivals and, with time running out in the Scottish Premiership, picking the right man to lead the line in Morelos’ absence could be a season-defining call van Bronckhorst has to make.
In other Rangers news, Chris Sutton has reacted to the news about Morelos.