Rangers: Concern as Philippe Clement issues latest injury news for Dundee clash at Dens Park
Philippe Clement’s latest Rangers injury update ahead of the latest attempt to play Dundee at Dens Park has been met with a deflated response from David Edgar.
The former Gers sponsor and man behind the Heart & Hand podcast reacted via Twitter on 16 April to the news that both Ridvan Yilmaz and Mohamed Diomande will not be back in time for the game the following night, while illness for Leon Balogun looks set to rule him out as well.
All three may have been in line to start following a shock 3-2 defeat in Dingwall at the weekend as the defence has come under particular scrutiny, along with underperforming players elsewhere such as John Lundstram in midfield.
Edgar wrote: “Never rains but it pours…”.
In light of this fixture twice being postponed due to a waterlogged pitch at Dundee that may or may not be a knowingly ironic reaction to the negative squad update.
Ridvan Yilmaz and Leon Balogun big misses for Rangers
There simply has to be a response to the 3-2 failure at Ross County at the weekend which has seen any title leeway disappear and likely necessitates a win at Parkhead over Celtic.
Connor Goldson hasn’t been at his best for some time this term but the suddenly drop in from from the likes of James Tavernier and Lundstram has been alarming, while there are long-standing doubts over Borna Barisic’s defensive ability.
When Yilmaz went down during the international break many would have feared the worst given the injury luck Clement has been operating under at Ibrox, but subsequent updates seemed positive.
Yet this midweek trip will be the fourth game the Turk has missed, and already would have been so if it hadn’t been postponed again at Dens Park last week, while the unexpected news that Diomande’s thumb surgery would keep him out vs Ross County came with the reassurance from Clement (11 April) that it wasn’t long-term, but the midfielder misses a second game.
If both were fit then they were almost certainly start, and would allow the manager to drop Barisic and Lundstram, even if the latter has become a favourite for the Belgian who is banking on a contract extension being worked out.
Equally, this would have been the ideal point to give Goldson a rest and bring Balogun back in, so for illness to strike right now seems typical of the fitness fortunes at Rangers.
Whoever is available it is clear that nothing less than a win will be sufficient reaction to dropping eight points in the past four games, and while the title race remains in Light Blues’ hands for now it will rapidly move out of sight without a vast improvement.
In other Rangers news, it has been claimed that two key Light Blues don’t “expect” to get past Celtic for the title.
For more Rangers news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.