Philippe Clement: Leon Balogun broke bone, ‘bad injury’ in Rangers v Livingston
Philippe Clement has confirmed that Leon Balogun has suffered a “bad injury” in the 3-0 Rangers win over Livingston and could have a facial fracture.
The Gers boss confirmed the latest blow to the perennially-afflicted Gers squad after the final whistle on 3 February, after the Nigerian international defender became a concussion withdrawal in the first half at Ibrox following a clash of heads.
Danilo previous missed six matches in all competitions with a broken cheek bone of his own, with the Brazilian now out with a knee injury in one of a host of absences for the Light Blues, but Clement says Balogun hopes to be back soon wearing a mask because he is a “warrior”.
Clement said, via Glasgow World: “It is not good because it is a bad injury, he probably broke something in his face. The positive side is that he is a warrior and he is somebody with experience who already had things like that in the past.
“He believes he can be fast back with a mask so I hope that is the case. It is the medical staff who need to decide that.”
Balogun blow latest in nightmare fitness run for Rangers
In terms of injury luck there seems to be no such thing at Ibrox, with Balogun hurt in a freak accident that could happen at any time.
Rangers aren’t overwhelmed with centre-back options, and with the 35-year-old unfortunate to be left out of the updated Europa League squad as Clement made changes to Michael Beale’s original selection he won’t be getting a look in there.
He will therefore surely want to be back as soon as he can be to feature in domestic games, with a title race well and truly on after another win and two more dropped points from Celtic after their draw at Aberdeen.
The Light Blues are already without the likes of Danilo, Abdallah Sima, Kemar Roofe, Kieran Dowell and Ben Davies, so losing Balogun for any length of time is supremely unhelpful.
If he can return wearing a mask then that will clearly be a boost but if there is any risk of concussion then he can’t be rushed back.
Numbers are thin in certain areas even in light of the January window additions, so losing more to injury is the last thing this side needs to threaten its momentum heading into the business end of the season.
In other Rangers news, a player who is set to join the club has apologised over an “incident” during the transfer window.
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