Kevin Kelsy injury theory floats round Rangers after new concerns

Kevin Kelsy may be struggling with his fitness at Rangers.

Signed for £9.5million from Portland Timbers in the summer, it's been a conservative start for the Venezuelan.

Scoring in his first full start in the Premier Sports Cup against Celtic at Ibrox, it couldn't have gone much better.

He added another goal in the Scottish Premiership against Kilmarnock after the international break, too.

Despite that, he was dropped to the bench in the 2-2 draw at Dundee on Saturday evening at Dens Park.

Derek McInnes didn't reveal any issues, but questions were asked given Rangers had won seven on the bounce before that.

And now, there is a theory that he may have been injured.

What was said about Kevin Kelsy?

Derek Ferguson, like all of us, was shocked by the change at Dens Park.

While he could understand playing another winger to nullify two physical centre-backs, he was still left with questions.

Speaking on the latest episode of Open Goal, the ex-Ibrox star did start to wonder whether injury or illness had taken their toll.

"Has Kelsy been off it? Is he carrying a niggle?" he said. "I thought before there was a bit of illness going round.

"When I saw the team, I thought he must be struggling a bit."

Will Kevin Kelsy start vs St Johnstone?

In simple terms, he surely has to.

McInnes may be stubborn and look to prove his point that he can make subtle changes and still pick up points.

But, there's no need to change what's worked so well, and that is having those two strikers on the pitch at the same time.

Ryan Naderi looks a shell of his best self when alone in the final third, and working with Kelsy brings the best out of him.

While the Czechia star may take the headlines over the South American, the work he does alongside him allows that to happen.

Badredine Bouanani came in and scored, performaning excellently, so if the Algerian starts again, someone else needs to drop out.

Right now, it would surely be Djeidi Gassama, with Minsu Kim at least looking lively in the second half at Dens.

McInnes likes him though, so it really is up in the air as to what happens and who starts at Ibrox on Saturday.