Philippe Clement fumes after what happened to John Lundstram in Rangers v St Johnstone
Philippe Clement has raged after John Lundstram was forced off of the pitch through an ankle injury as Rangers beat St Johnstone 2-0 at Ibrox.
The boss accused the opposition players of kicking Lundstram off of the pitch after a succession of fouls and warned that his players could have suffered leg breaks given the velocity of the challenges.
As a result, Lundstram may be missing for Rangers until after the winter break, meaning he would also miss the Old Firm clash at Parkhead on 30 December in a bitter blow.
Speaking following the game, as reported by the Belfast News Letter, Clement ranted: “It’s another player who is kicked off the pitch, so I am really frustrated with that. It’s his ankle so we will see in the next couple of days what will happen.
“This for me is my main concern after the game – again a player kicked off the pitch. I’m not sure we can get him back before the winter break so that’s not a good situation.
“But it clearly wasn’t a good challenge with your studs forward like that. We had an even worse one later in the game when the guy luckily hit the ball and not my player, the intensity there was to break a leg. Those things are not good for football.”
An ever-worsening crisis
With this latest injury blow, Lundstram has joined a growing list of Ibrox stars who have been sidelined through injuries. Kemar Roofe was also forced off against St Johnstone, compounding the frustration for Clement.
Joining these key players on the treatment table are Danilo, Tom Lawrence, Nicolas Raskin, Zak Lovelace and Jose Cifuentes. The returns of Todd Cantwell and Scott Wright have provided some respite, but the situation at Ibrox is not a positive one for the boss.
Lundstram’s injury in particular will come as a bitter blow to Rangers. He has been one of their most consistent performers so far this season and usually steps up to the plate when called upon, particularly amid this injury crisis, so his absence will be felt.
Heading into an Old Firm clash at Parkhead in just over a week’s time on 30 December, Rangers would have been hoping to see some of their injured stars return. Instead, it looks like even more will be missing through no fault of their own.
In other Rangers news, David Edgar has shared a new Alfredo Morelos transfer update.