Lawrence Shankland injury: Worst-case Rangers scenario revealed as Derek McInnes shares 'significant' update

Lawrence Shankland was forced off with a hamstring issue in Rangers' 1-0 win against Motherwell on Saturday.

The in-form number nine pulled up after mere minutes had played at Ibrox, appearing to hold his right hamstring.

Thankfully for the Gers, his replacement Ryan Naderi came off the bench to put the Light Blues ahead after stealing possession from goalkeeper Alex Paulsen to tap in to an empty net.

Derek McInnes will be delighted to see his side win their third game in a row, but there will be some doubts about Shankland.

The skipper already has four goals to his tally for the Bears, and it may not be a long time before he's back scoring.

However, Rangers will also sweat as the worst-case scenario could be bad news for them and for Shankland.

What is worst-case scenario for Lawrence Shankland injury?

A hamstring injury is never something players can quickly recover from, unless it's just mere tightness that they feel.

There's a chance that Shankland was smart enough to take himself off the pitch before doing serious damage to the muscle. However, that's not really in his character.

If the 31-year-old has suffered an injury, the best Rangers can hope for is a grade 1 hamstring problem.

This would see him sidelined for a minimum of seven days, but there would still be a possible maximum recovery time of three weeks.

A grade 2 hamstring injury is more classed as a moderate strain rather than minor, and can be a partial tear that could leave a player out for anywhere between three and eight weeks.

The worst-case scenario for the Gers is a grade 3 injury; a severe tear that often leaves players out for at least two months, but there's also potential for an individual to be out for four months, too.

Derek McInnes offers Shankland injury update

Shankland has already shown that he will be a crucial player for Rangers this season.

His importance has been made even more significant following Youssef Chermiti's ACL injury.

Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland after full-time, McInnes offered an update.

The Rangers boss said: "We've picked up a few little knocks which is far from ideal.

"It looks quite significant to be honest, similar incident to what he had at Hearts last January.

"We'll get the scan on Monday, but all I can say is it does look quite significant, so it's disappointing."

The injury being referred to kept the striker out for 66 days for the Jambos last term.

He missed eight games in this time, and the period of time matches up with what could be a grade 3 injury; the worst possible scenario.