Rangers handed injury boost as Giovanni van Bronckhorst names promising return date for Leon King after injury v Napoli
Leon King was taken off by Giovanni van Bronckhorst after going down injured as Rangers faced Napoli on Wednesday night.
Rangers’ defensive issues looked to be going from bad to worse against Napoli as King looked set to join a lengthy list of absentees in the treatment room.
King limped off the pitch when he was replaced by Borna Barisic on the 76-minute mark after the 18-year-old went down clutching his leg.
But Van Bronckhorst offered a promising update on King’s fitness after the full-time whistle, with the Dutchman suggesting he was only struggling with cramp.
As reported by the Daily Record, Van Bronckhorst revealed: “It was simply cramp – and says he expects him back to face Aberdeen on Saturday.”
Phew
If another 3-0 drubbing from Napoli wasn’t bad enough, Rangers fans were left extremely worried by King’s substitution on Wednesday night.
With Connor Goldson already out with a long-term injury, Gers would have been down to just James Sands and Ben Davies in defence had King’s injury been serious.
The fact that Barisic was coming on in central defence in a game where Rangers were desperately looking to defend emphasises just how bad Rangers’ situation is.
Frankly, King has gone from a fringe player to becoming absolutely crucial in a matter of weeks, and Van Bronckhorst will be mightily relieved that he’s available for the weekend clash against Aberdeen, especially considering the mounting pressure over his job.
But it doesn’t hide the fact that Rangers need to quickly address their defensive issues. Investment is needed in January to add more depth and competition to an extremely thin and fragile defensive department.
In other Rangers news, a BT Sport pundit blasts ‘stupid’ John Lundstram after his incident v Napoli