Official Rangers partner moots serious questions as Philippe Clement shares ‘concerning’ Kemar Roofe news ahead of Hearts
The latest fitness update on Kemar Roofe is “concerning” and the situation at Rangers before Philippe Clement arrived may be open to “seriously question”, according to 4 Lads Had A Dream.
The official club partner reacted on Twitter on 27 October after the Ibrox boss confirmed that the forward is again set to miss out against Hearts this weekend, and said that the club needed to find a reason because the Jamaica international has been struggling for a long time.
With Roofe having missed nearly all of last season with a knee injury before also needing a hip operation [Sky Sports, 10 March], and with Clement having questioned the fitness of the squad upon his arrival [Scottish Sun, 20 October], 4 Lads has suggested it reflects very poorly on the club through the previous reigns.
Reacting to the latest Roofe update 4 Lads wrote: “Concerning that Roofe has been ‘struggling for a long time & we need to find the reason’.
“I thought the OP he missed 4 months with was that.
“The constant fitness comments from Clement in general then this, is it ok to seriously question what exactly was going on before him?”
Injury plagued
Roofe is arguably the most glaring example at the club but he is far from the only player to be heavily affected by injury problems in recent seasons.
John Souttar’s first campaign at Ibrox saw him absent for a significant period, while Tom Lawrence has still only made 13 appearances since arriving two summers ago.
Ridvan Yilmaz is another who is rarely available for more than a few games at a time, while Filip Helander’s time in Glasgow ended after a year out of action, having only made six SPFL appearances the campaign before.
There are plenty more names that come into the equation on this subject and added together cannot fail to put Rangers at a disadvantage at key times.
The MIchael Beale era, just like the Giovanni van Bronckhorst reign before, ended in inglorious circumstances with both missing numerous players.
So it seems like a situation that very much needs questioning, especially when the new manager has made mention of a lack of fitness within his first weeks at the club.
Every team will experience injury set backs but unless the Light Blues have had incredibly bad luck it is surely worth investigating if key improvements can be made or whether the club is routinely targeting players prone to breaking down.
In other Rangers news, the club could get a “perverse” boost in their hopes of signing an in-form player.