Leon Balogun went down in anguish during Rangers‘ clash with St Mirren in the latest injury hammer blow to Philippe Clement.
And he may now face a selection crisis ahead of the New Year derby with Celtic – with Michael Stewart saying his setback makes January signings at Ibrox “a definite.”. Balogun started the game in Paisley with John Souttar and Neraysho Kasanwirjo out leaving Clement down to his bare bones defensively. Speaking ahead of the game, the pundits highlighted that he couldn’t afford another defensive setback – with a huge double-header against Motherwell and Celtic on the immediate horizon.
There was huge concern then on 15 minutes when Balogun burst a gut to shut down Toyosi Olusanya and went down in distress clutching his right leg. Michael Stewart on commentary said it ‘looked like a hamstring or an Achilles, with Balogun instantly replaced by Robin Propper.
Dujon Sterling was already starting out of position at centre-back and, if Balogun’s injury is as bad as feared, then Clement will have to navigate the upcoming run of games with Propper his only available centre-back.
That led Stewart to argue short-term reinforcements in January are ‘a definite’ before adding: “I’d be astonished if he isn’t already highlighting that to Nils Koppen and saying ‘we need to get someone in short-term to cover that position.'”