Leon Balogun: Injury gets even worse after 'Horrible' Rangers blow
Leon Balogun could have made his calf injury worse after his actions in Rangers defeat against St Mirren, Charlie Mulgrew has said.
Speaking on commentary for Premier Sports (26 December), Mulgrew spotted that Balogun had "done himself no favours" by carrying on heroically to stop an attack despite clearly being injured.
Balogun was forced off for Robin Propper just 19 minutes into the Boxing Day contest at St Mirren Park with the game still poised at 0-0, but Philippe Clement's side still fell to a last-gasp 2-1 defeat.
Mulgrew said: "I thought at that point the trouble was going to be a goal, but he's done well to move his feet.
"He's probably done himself no favours with injuries – probably made it a bit worse.
"It looks like a calf pull to me – I've been there before, it's a horrible (injury)."
Rangers injury woes continue after Leon Balogun setback
Clement would likely rather have seen any other player – other than Balogun's starting partner Dujon Sterling – go off injured against St. Mirren, with his centre-back stocks already thinning.
The Light Blues have likely seen the last of Feyenoord loanee Neraysho Kasanwirjo after season-ending surgery on an ACL problem [Daily Record, 2 December], and the setbacks have only increased since.
John Souttar – arguably the Gers' star man so far this term – is out until mid-to-late January following his injury against Tottenham in Europe, and that facilitates the need for reinforcements next month.
Bolstering numbers in central defence is the top transfer priority at Ibrox with the window looming [The Rangers Review, 17 December], and yet another setback, this time for Balogun, exacerbates the need for new signings.
Not only has their late defeat in Paisley derailed a strong run of form for Clement's side, but it's also given them yet another problem to solve in January rather than building on the strength of their squad.
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