Rangers in huge trouble as John Souttar injury update emerges after Celtic loss
Rangers took to the pitch at Hampden Park for the Scottish League Cup final without John Souttar and ultimately lost on penalties.
Philippe Clement squandered a golden opportunity to ease the ongoing pressure at Ibrox as the Gers played out a 3-3 draw against Celtic after 90 minutes on Sunday [15 December], before Ridvan Yilmaz missed the decisive spot-kick in the resulting penalty shootout.
The loss was hugely damaging, of course, and there is more fallout from the day to forget as Souttar is set to be sidelined “for several weeks.”
As the Light Blues’ hopes of securing domestic silverware this year look bleak, bridging the 11-point gap to Celtic in the Scottish Premiership appears all the more daunting without Souttar.
John Souttar will be a huge loss for Rangers
While Leon Balogun produced an “outstanding” moment against Celtic, deputising in Souttar’s absence, Clement has lost one of his better performers at Rangers.
The Gers can take some positives away from the cup final loss – the contest was a much more competitive affair than the prior 3-0 loss against Celtic that played out earlier this season.
But still, Greg Taylor, Daizen Maeda and Nicolas-Gerrit Kuhn found themselves on the scoresheet on Sunday and, while Rangers replied with three goals of their own via Nedim Bajrami, Mohamed Diomande and Danilo, the defensive side of the game was nowhere near good enough.
Souttar has established himself as an integral member of the first-team squad under Clement and has shone above the rest at times this year.
Balogun, on the other hand, is 36, and as the Gers prepare for a hectic period heading into the New Year, it remains to be seen how the veteran handles the workload of playing two matches a week.
This news could not have come at a worse time for Rangers, and with another Old Firm clash at Ibrox ahead on 2 January, Souttar’s absence could all but end any hope of remaining competitive in the SPFL.
In other Rangers news, Neil Lennon was stunned by a Jack Butland question after the Gers’ loss against Celtic.
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