Rangers will be without captain Lawrence Shankland for up to four months after the striker suffered a hamstring tear, dealing a significant blow to Derek McInnes' side ahead of a busy autumn schedule.
The 31-year-old forward was withdrawn early during Saturday's 1-0 home victory over Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership, with replacement Ryan Naderi netting the game's only goal after capitalising on an error from goalkeeper Alex Paulsen.
Speaking ahead of Wednesday's home fixture against St Mirren, McInnes revealed the extent of the injury, describing it as a recurrence of a problem Shankland suffered while at Hearts last season. "He's had a tear, it's a 2cm tear in his hamstring so similar, very similar to the one he did previously at Hearts in January," the Rangers manager said. That earlier injury kept Shankland out for nine weeks.
McInnes confirmed his captain was undergoing further assessment in London to determine the best course of treatment. "He's actually in London now, he's getting an ultrasound scan, a follow-up scan which is just to determine with the specialist whether he has surgery or whether we just let that heal naturally, as it did the last time," he explained. Surgery would extend the recovery timeline by a further three to four weeks but could reduce the chance of the injury recurring.
"Unfortunately, for us and Lawrence, it's a significant amount of time out and we just need to support him, as we do with all our injured players," McInnes added. "He was starting to find his stride here and had obviously scored some important goals for us but that is football, unfortunately, the ups and downs of it. Best case scenario three months, probably worst-case scenario in terms of time would be about four months."
The timing is particularly damaging given Shankland's recent form, having scored four goals in ten appearances for Rangers this season, including decisive contributions in league wins at Aberdeen and Falkirk before his injury. His absence will also be felt on the international stage, with Scotland set to face North Macedonia, Slovenia and Switzerland home and away in the Nations League between late September and mid-November under new head coach Sebastien Pocognoli. Shankland has scored seven goals in 22 caps for Scotland, including three this year.
The news compounds an already difficult period up front for Rangers, who are also missing striker Youssef Chermiti after he sustained anterior cruciate ligament damage against Hibernian last month. "Having him and Youssef out, two guys that guarantee you goals at Premiership level, there's no doubt it's a blow for us," McInnes said, though he pointed to opportunities for other squad members including Naderi, recent signing Kevin Kelsy and forward Bojan Miovski.
Statistically, none of Rangers' other forwards have matched Shankland's scoring rate in recent seasons, with Miovski's record of a goal every 148 minutes coming closest. Kelsy, signed from Portland Timbers, made his debut against Motherwell but struck the crossbar with his best chance, and former Rangers goalkeeper Cammy Bell suggested on the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast that the Venezuelan forward may now be forced to adapt quickly to Scottish football without the grace period his transfer would otherwise have afforded.
Elsewhere in the Rangers squad, winger Daisuke Yokota will miss the St Mirren clash with a groin injury, while left-back Tuur Rommens has returned to training and could feature again later this month. Rangers face a demanding run of fixtures following the St Mirren game, including two meetings with Celtic in the League Cup and league before the first international break of the season.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport Football.