Connor Barron injury: Rangers star ‘damages ligaments’ v Manchester United
Connor Barron looks to have damaged knee or ankle ligaments as Rangers fell to a 2-1 defeat against Manchester United on Thursday, Steven Thompson has said.
Speaking on commentary for BBC Sportsound (23 January, 8:43pm), Thompson spotted Barron wincing after seemingly jarring his knee in a challenge with Diogo Dalot late in the first half at Old Trafford.
In a game full of drama, Philippe Clement has had to deal with several new injuries to Barron, Leon Balogun and Vaclav Cerny.
Thompson said: “You can see him there, he kind of winces after the challenge – either knee or ankle ligaments I’d say.
“But, he’s a brave young man so I’d imagine he’ll not come off easily – he’s walking off, so it could be [down to 10 men] even if it’s just to get to half-time, a couple of minutes.”
Rangers suffer Connor Barron blow v Manchester United
Losing Barron for the rest of the game – he was replaced by Ross McCausland at half-time – will have been the most pressing worry for Clement at the time, but a further spell on the sidelines could beckon.
Ankle or knee ligament damage can even be a season-ender in the worst of circumstances, but given Barron did his best to carry on, there’ll be hope that his injury isn’t to such a serious extent.
The Gers’ number eight likely wouldn’t have even been named in the starting XI if Clement had a full complement of midfielders, but Mohamed Diomande’s suspension opened the door to Barron.
Barron’s nasty first-half collision left Clement taking no risks at the break, and the decision to replace his deepest-lying midfielder with an out-and-out winger shows the dearth of options Clement is left with.
The winter transfer window gives the Belgian scope to potentially strengthen his midfield if Barron is out for the long term, but it remains to be seen just how much Clement will be given to do so.
In other Rangers news, David Edgar reacted as an Ibrox academy product finally sealed a permanent exit away from the club.
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