Rangers captain Lawrence Shankland is facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering a hamstring tear that could keep him out for as long as four months.
The 31-year-old forward was forced off during Rangers’ 1-0 Scottish Premiership victory over Motherwell on Saturday, with substitute Ryan Naderi later scoring the decisive goal. Further assessment has confirmed a two-centimetre tear in Shankland’s hamstring.
The injury is in a similar area to the problem he sustained while playing for Hearts in January, which ruled him out for around nine weeks. Rangers are now considering whether surgery would reduce the chances of another recurrence.
Shankland travelled to London for additional scans and a specialist assessment, with a decision on treatment expected shortly. An operation could extend his recovery by several weeks, but Rangers believe it may offer greater protection against the injury returning.
The setback comes after Shankland had begun to establish himself at Ibrox, scoring four goals in his first 10 appearances for the club.
His absence will affect Rangers across a busy domestic schedule. After their midweek meeting with St Mirren, Derek McInnes’ side are due to face Celtic at home in the League Cup before travelling to meet their rivals again in the Premiership.
Rangers also have five matches scheduled in October, three in November and six in December, meaning Shankland could miss a substantial portion of the first half of the campaign.
The injury is also a major blow for Scotland. Shankland is expected to be unavailable for the national team’s Nations League fixtures between late September and mid-November, when new head coach Sebastien Pocognoli’s side will play North Macedonia, Slovenia and Switzerland twice each.
Shankland has seven goals from 22 Scotland appearances, including three scored earlier this year.
Rangers have another injury concern ahead of the St Mirren match, with winger Daisuke Yokota ruled out because of a groin problem. Left-back Tuur Rommens has returned to training, however, and could be available again later in September.