Why Lawrence Shankland injury comes at the worst time as Rangers finally click vs Motherwell

Lawrence Shankland must be the unluckiest player at Rangers.

When it looked like things were finally going the striker's way at the Gers after an underwhelming start to the season, he was forced off with an injury early on in the win over Motherwell.

The Scotland international has had to bide his time under Derek McInnes at the Light Blues, but had three goals in two games coming into the game against the Steelmen.

Shankland couldn't get past the eighth minute at Ibrox after picking up a knock.

The 31-year-old arguably does his best work in and around the penalty box, but the support needed from other attacking players to bring the best out of the striker has been missing for most of the season.

It looks like the Glaswegian outfit are finally starting to click after creating multiple opportunities in the 1-0 victory, but sadly, the ex-Hearts forward's injury has arguably come at the worst possible time.

Why Rangers fans have cause for encouragement after win vs Motherwell

McInnes may have finally found his preferred system at the Gers and the win over Motherwell was arguably their most convincing performance of the season.

The Scottish manager doesn't seem bothered by dominating possession, but rather moments in the game.

Alfred Johansson's team had more of the ball at Ibrox, but it was the Light Blues who made the most of it.

The Glaswegian outfit recorded 41 per cent possession, an xG of 3.93 and created five big chances, as per Sofascore.

As for Motherwell, they had an xG of 0.51 and didn't create a single big chance, which perfectly encapsulates what McInnes probably wants to see from his team.

The one criticism from fans in G51 about the Govan side recently has been the lack of creativity up front, which has certainly affected Shankland's output, but they're finally improving on that front.

Who could replace Lawrence Shankland after Ibrox injury

Shankland's injury at Rangers has been described as significant.

Speaking about it after the win against Motherwell, McInnes said, "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."

If the striker does end up missing the next few months, McInnes will have to rely on Ryan Naderi, Kevin Kelsy or Bojan Miovski to be his starting number nine.

Youssef Chermiti is also out of action for a considerable period after an ACL injury.

Having spent over £9million on Kelsy, the pressure will now certainly be on him to convert chances up front.