Philippe Clement hasn’t half had his injury problems to seek at Rangers.
Heading into the clash with Kilmarnock the Ibrox side were rocked by an injury to key defender Connor Goldson who joins Oscar Cortes and Danilo in being ruled out for the season.
Whilst Ridvan Yilmaz returned to the team in the second half of Rangers’ eventual 4-1 win over Kilmarnock, issues remain over Ryan Jack, Rabbi Matondo, and Abdallah Sima heading into next week’s crucial Old Firm clash.
And now the Rangers manager has confirmed the club are waiting on yet another blow.
It is enough to have the nerves jangling over a key area of the pitch heading into that trip to Celtic Park.
Clement: Balogun latest Rangers injury worry
Rangers defender Leon Balogun has been called into the squad in recent weeks but was forced off at half-time against Kilmarnock at Ibrox.
At the time, the Sky Sports commentary team claimed that the substitution was due to a minor back injury and Philippe Clement has expanded on the situation come full-time.
In his usual style, the Rangers manager has claimed that the club will take some time to assess Leon Balogun before making a call on the Nigerian veteran’s fitness.
With Ben Davies coming off the bench to replace the centre-back and score on his first appearance since December, Clement has also urged his squad to step up ahead of next week’s must-win trip to the east end.
“(An injury is) why we had to take (Leon Balogun) off,” Clement told BBC Sportsound. “No clue for the moment, we will see in the next few days what the situation is. Again, everybody is ready to step in and do a job for the team.
“You want that [impact]. They come in when the other team is less fresh, we get more space, and they can make a difference with their freshness. All the team is fighting to be in the starting XI but also to be ready to make a difference when they come on.
“We need to keep on pushing. I stepped into the building six months ago when we were seven points behind. It’s now three. With a victory next week, it can be zero. Exciting game for everybody next week.
“We need to do what we did in the first two games but be more decisive in the moment. Twice, we were close to a result – even at Celtic Park with 10 men. We need to dig in. We have all the quality to win.
“I relish every game against every opponent because every game is important. Winning this one could be huge. We go there to win and we will see at the end of the game.”
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Philippe Clement added: “I hope it’s a small muscle injury, we will see the next couple of days.
“But he struggled too much to continue.”
Rangers squad must stand up at Celtic Park
It never rains but it pours.
If Rangers can take any solace from the latest injury to Leon Balogun it’s that Philippe Clement has regularly managed to foster a siege mentality in the face of the club’s medical problems.
Ben Davies – who has almost certainly looked destined for the exit door this summer – also stepped in comfortably alongside John Souttar at the heart of the defence.
With both players scoring in the win over Kilmarnock, it’s certainly a positive sign heading into that crunch Celtic Park Old Firm.
All eyes will now be on who is fit and who is not as Rangers look to regroup and go again against Celtic next weekend.
With three points and five goals in it at the top of the league, victory in the final Scottish Premiership Old Firm of the season could be the difference between title 56 and yet more heartbreak.
Whether the club go into the match with or without Leon Balogun, it’s clear the Rangers manager is expecting full commitment from his stars for the final four games of the campaign.
