With Rangers currently fourth in the Scottish Premiership and rock-bottom of the gigantic Europa League table, they need wins and fast.
On Saturday, Danny Röhl’s side will go in search of a fourth successive league victory when last-placed Livingston visit Ibrox.
This is followed by a European clash with Braga and, considering the Gers are currently pointless halfway through the league phase, they really could do with a victory over the Archbishops from Northern Portugal.
However, potentially dealing with something of a defensive injury crisis ahead of Saturday’s game, how could Röhl combat his new injury problems?
Rangers' defensive injury crisis
The news any club supporter and indeed manager fears during an international break is reports that their players may have suffered an injury while away with their countries, but this may be exactly the reality Rangers are facing.
First, ahead of Scotland’s historic World Cup qualifying victory over Denmark at Hampden on Tuesday, mere minutes before kick-off, centre-back John Souttar withdrew from the starting lineup after suffering an injury during the warm-up.
The extent of the injury is currently unknown, but it is always a concern when it comes to Souttar, considering he has ruptured both anterior cruciate ligaments in the past.
This season though, he has been a near-ever-present in Rangers’ back line, starting 23 of the Gers’ 24 matches, rested against Alloa, as well as ten of Scotland’s last 11 competitive fixtures prior to Tuesday night.
Later that day, in the middle of the night UK time, further bad news emerged given that Derek Cornelius was withdrawn just 33 minutes into Canada’s 2-0 friendly victory over Venezuela in Fort Lauderdale.
Since arriving on loan from Marseille, the 27-year-old has cemented himself as a key figure, especially since Röhl has switched to a back three, given the scarcity of alternative centre-back options.
Similar to Souttar, it is not yet publicly known if Cornelius will be available for the weekend, but this has to be a concern.
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Nevertheless, given bottom of the table Livingston are the visitors to Ibrox, neither should be risked if not 100% fit, hence why Röhl should entrust his forgotten “colossus” with a start.
How Rangers can solve their defensive injury problems
Of Rangers’ 13 new recruits during the summer, Emmanuel Fernandez is often forgotten and overlooked by supporters.
The 6 foot 4 central defender arrived from Peterborough United in July, having bounced around the lower division in England, representing non-league clubs including Sheppey United and Spalding United.
This move north of the border was supposed to be the 24-year-old’s big breakthrough, but he’s so far been more of a lesser-spotted species than an integral figure.
Fernandez scored on debut against Alloa Athletic, starting at St Mirren the following weekend, but has seen just one minute of action since 24 August, introduced late during the last-gasp, hard-fought victory over Hibernian at Easter Road, an unused substitute on 11 occasions.
This is despite the fact that the Englishman boasted impressive statistics in EFL League One last season, as the table below documents.
Goals
5
2nd
Tackles *
1.24
63rd
Interceptions *
0.91
46th
Clearances *
6.83
19th
Passing accuracy %
85.35%
20th
Passes *
65.93
5th
Aerial duels won *
4
27th
Aerial duels won %
62.24
25th
Ground duels won *
2.87
35th
Note: rankings are defenders only.
These performances for Posh last season led to Peterborough Chairman Darragh MacAnthony describing the central defender as a “colossus”, also noting that he is a “gentle giant” as well as a “great organiser and talker”.
His most spectacular moment came when he scored an astonishing long-range goal against Exeter City.
Also worth highlighting is that, according to Global Football Rankings, EFL League One is the 41st strongest division in the world, just eight places below the Scottish Premiership, suggesting Fernandez would be more than good enough to start, particularly against Livingston at home.
With fixtures coming thick and fast, and a must-win European match against Braga right around the corner, Röhl surely cannot risk either Souttar or Cornelius exacerbating their injury issues, emphasising that he has to trust Fernandez to start as the middle man in his back three at the weekend.
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