Abdallah Sima could be ruled out for five Rangers games as announcement made
Abdallah Sima has been included in the official Senegal squad for the African Cup of Nations, meaning he could now miss up to five games for Rangers, according to Heart & Hand.
The official Rangers partner shared the news on Twitter, with Sima possibly missing games against Dumbarton, Hibernian, St Mirren, Livingston and Aberdeen depending on Senegal’s progress in the tournament.
With AFCON running from 13 January to 11 February, the forward could be missing for almost an entire month of games in a bitter blow to Philippe Clement’s side.
A big miss for Rangers
Sima is the top scorer at Ibrox this season, with his 14 goals in all competitions proving vital to Rangers’ progress not just as they close the gap to Celtic in the SPFL but also to their Europa League campaign with his three goals helping them to top the group.
In the league, Sima has provided nine goals and two assists in 18 appearances, proving to be the most reliable source of goals in the forward line despite the struggles of the likes of Cyriel Dessers and Sam Lammers alongside him as summer signings.
The arrival of Fabio Silva will ease the burden of the Senegalese star’s exit, but his pace and dynamism in attack will surely be missed, having thrived with his pace and eye for goal since Clement arrived at Ibrox in place of Michael Beale.
The possibility that Sima could miss five games for Rangers means they will have to find a way to plug the gap he will leave during that time, and the arrival of Silva could be key due to injuries to both Danilo and Kemar Roofe leaving Clement short of options in the forward line.
In other Rangers news, Silva’s success could see a permanent move sorted in the summer.