Scott Wright could be handed Rangers lifeline by Michael Beale as Rabbi Matondo update emerges in last 24 hours
Rangers forward Rabbi Matondo has been ruled out for the next six weeks with a knee injury which could potentially hand a much-needed lifeline to bit-part Ibrox man Scott Wright.
Michael Beale’s assistant Neil Banfield confirmed on Tuesday, 26 September in his press conference, that the Wales international will be out for six weeks.
Matondo picked up a knee injury against Motherwell over the weekend which led to instant fears with several first-team stars already out on the treatment table at Ibrox.
The Gers are already without Kieran Dowell, Todd Cantwell, Danilo and Nicolas Raskin for several weeks through injury and the Wales international will now join them on the sidelines for the foreseeable future.
A year ago, such news would have been greeted by a gentle shrug of the shoulders among the Gers’ fanbase but fast forward to now, it’s another damaging blow for Beale which says much about Matondo’s progress as a first-team regular as anything.
The 23-year-old has been one of Michael Beale’s best performers this campaign, having scored twice and assisted a couple more in 10 games – only half of which have been starts.
Matondo started the 1-0 victories over Real Betis and then Motherwell after finally finding his feet in Glasgow.
No Rangers player has averaged more successful dribbles per game in the league (two), while nobody has assisted more than his two goals [WhoScored].
Beale is certainly entering a crucial period rather light in attack which could well mean Wright is given a crucial lifeline in his Rangers career, to prove to his manager and the club fans that he could still play a vital role both now and beyond.
The 26-year-old was linked with a move from Ibrox all summer and looked destined to follow the likes of Ryan Kent, Alfredo Morelos, Fashion Sakala and Antonio Colak out of Glasgow, but for his expected move to Turkish Pendikspor to break down, according to The 4th Official (2 August).
The 26-year-old via Sky Sports in July (19 July), even looked confident and smiling ahead of a potential move away when he was spotted and interrupted for an interview at an airport travelling for talks, in order to break away from his Ibrox first team nightmare.
That was the second time the winger was seen jetting to Turkey in an attempt to complete a move but instead came back empty-handed.
Speaking in his Friday (11 August) press conference, Beale admitted that until anything changes, Wright will remain a Rangers player for the coming campaign and now is certainly his chance to stake a regular claim.
However, his opportunity didn’t get off to the best of starts.
There were eyebrows raised after Michael Beale named him in the playing eleven over the weekend in their 1-0 win over Motherwell and then decided to take him off in the second half.
According to Sofascore, he misplaced 66 per cent of his long passes and lost possession on 10 separate occasions during the game but given it was his first start in a while, Beale may well give him the benefit of the doubt.
After Matondo’s injury blow, he remains Rangers’ most senior winger available but it’s up to him to prove whether he’s finally good enough to be a Beale regular at Ibrox.
In other Rangers news, Ben Davies and Connor Goldson have continued their 100 per cent unbeaten record with the Light Blues