Clement has confirmed that he will try and sign a striker in January following Danilo’s injury.
Startled With the news that Tom Lawrence and Danilo will not be playing for the Rangers this season, Philippe Clement has been dealt a double hammer blow.
The devastating news that both players will be out until after the January break will come as a shock to the Ibrox support ahead of a huge week. Brazilian ace Danilo may need surgery and an even longer layoff. After missing the majority of the previous season, Lawrence was making just his sixth start of the year during Wednesday’s victory over Hearts.
But 15 minutes into the match in Gorgie, the Welshman hobbled off with a new injury. Danilo then joined him in the dressing room after taking a serious knock of his own, leaving Clement terribly short on attacking options.
The Belgian manager of the Gers acknowledges that he will now need to make finding a new striker a priority for January, with only the misfiring Cyriel Dessers and a partially fit Kemar Roofe available as backup.
But before that, Gers still have seven huge fixtures to get through. That schedule starts with today’s Premiership clash at home to Dundee but the challenges will only get tougher, with Rangers due in Spain on Thursday for an all-important Europa League tie against Real Betis before Sunday’s Viaplay Cup final showdown against Aberdeen on Sunday and Clement’s first derby test at Celtic Park on December 30.
Breaking the bad news, Clement said: “Tom will be out for sure until the winter break and Danilo will be out for the same.
“It may be after, but we won’t get [Danilo] until after the winter break. He has a problem with his knee because of a bad tackle in the game.
“There is a chance he may require surgery. It was an unlucky situation that is part of football, because of the contact there is a problem.
I want now to focus on my fit players, I have been talking enough about my injured players. Of course, it is a blow for both players because they have been really motivated.
“They were ready for the story, they were performing well. We have really important games and we need to focus on the fit players.”
Dessers has been a major letdown since his £4.5million move from Cremenose in the summer while Roofe has proved incapable of staying fit for the last 18 months. But Clement shrugged off suggestions he could ask 12-goal winger Abdallah Sima to fill in through the middle.
“We will look to bring someone in, it will be one of the priorities,” he said. “But it’s up to the other strikers to show they’re ready.
“We know that Kemar is just out of an injury also and has a history of consecutive injuries. We need to take that into account, it’s no use just to throw him on the pitch and then he’s out also.
“Kemar is not ready to play 90 minutes. I don’t want to put all the pressure on Abdallah to score goals, I expect it from other positions.
“I haven’t had a chance to play him as a central striker in training because we haven’t had enough wingers in training. It’s about the players showing they are ready to play for a club like Rangers with all the expectations that brings.”
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