NafisaRangers may have secured another important three points at Ibrox, but Derek McInnes was left facing a major selection headache after revealing the full extent of the injury problems surrounding two of his summer signings.
The Light Blues edged past St Mirren 1-0 in the William Hill Premiership on Wednesday night, with Bojan Miovski producing a dramatic late winner to maintain Rangers’ strong run of form.
However, the result came with a sizeable cloud hanging over the squad, with McInnes forced to address the condition of two players who have already become significant parts of his plans this season.
Neither Lawrence Shankland nor Daisuke Yokota featured against St Mirren, and supporters were already aware that both players were facing spells on the sidelines.
What Rangers fans did not yet know was just how serious the situation had become.
McInnes has now confirmed that both players will undergo surgery in London, with the same surgeon set to operate on them one after the other.
Shankland is first, with the Rangers captain due to undergo an operation to repair the hamstring problem which has already ruled him out for a significant period.
The former Hearts striker had been expected to miss several months after suffering the injury, and McInnes admitted that the decision to operate is partly designed to reduce the possibility of the problem recurring.
“He (Shankland) is due to get the operation tomorrow in London.
“We just feel, because it’s been a recurrence really, by getting the surgery it minimises the risk of that happening again.
“I know it can still happen again, but we need to be able to have that confidence for that, and it might take that extra three or four weeks.”
That means Rangers are facing the prospect of being without their captain for up to four months, representing a considerable blow at a crucial stage of the campaign.
Shankland had made an encouraging start before being struck by the problem and his absence leaves McInnes needing other players to shoulder the responsibility in attack.
Ryan Naderi has already stepped up in recent matches, while Miovski’s late contribution against St Mirren provided another reminder of the options Rangers still have available.
But the injury news did not end there.
In fact, McInnes then revealed another piece of information which could leave Rangers supporters even more concerned.
Yokota will also undergo surgery after scans revealed an unusual injury to his groin.
The Japanese winger had been struggling with the problem and was sent for further assessment, but the scan produced a far more serious diagnosis than initially expected.
According to McInnes, Yokota has torn the muscle away from the tendon in his groin, leaving surgery as the preferred course of action.
“Unfortunately, he’s not alone in London, Daisuke Yokota is getting a groin operation tomorrow as well, which has been quite unusual in the sense that, once we got him scanned on Monday, it showed that he had actually torn the muscle off the tendon in his groin.
“It’s such an unpredictable injury, that the surgeon has decided that it needs surgery as well, so he’ll be out for a significant time as well, probably reaching to two or three months as well with that.
“So they’re actually getting done one after the other, the surgeon’s rubbing his hands, he’s getting two for the price of one. It is Shankland first and then Yokota.”
Yokota’s expected absence of two to three months adds another problem for McInnes to solve, particularly given the winger’s ability to provide another attacking option from wide areas.
The timing is also far from ideal for Rangers, with a hectic period of fixtures approaching and two Old Firm meetings against Celtic scheduled in the space of just seven days.
Rangers’ immediate concern, though, will be finding a way to cope without two summer arrivals who were brought in to strengthen McInnes’ squad.
The manager has already had to deal with injury setbacks elsewhere in the squad, and the double operation announcement only adds to the pressure on the Rangers boss to make the most of the players still available to him.
There was at least something for McInnes to celebrate on Wednesday night.
Rangers dominated much of the early stages against St Mirren but found themselves frustrated as the visitors remained in the contest.
The game looked destined to end without a winner before substitute Miovski finally broke the deadlock in the 91st minute.
The forward was played through by Naderi before calmly lifting the ball over St Mirren goalkeeper Jacob Chapman to send Ibrox into celebration.
It was another important contribution from a player who could now be asked to shoulder an even greater attacking burden following Shankland’s injury.
For McInnes, however, the immediate focus will be on helping his squad navigate a difficult period without two players who were expected to play important roles.
Shankland faces the longer absence, potentially stretching to four months, while Yokota is expected to spend two to three months recovering from his groin operation.
And with both players now heading to the same London surgeon on Thursday, Rangers have been handed a double injury blow just as their season begins to gather serious momentum.
Nafisa
