Soccer Football - Europa League - Final - Eintracht Frankfurt v Rangers - Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, Seville, Spain - May 18, 2022 Rangers' Aaron Ramsey looks dejected after losing the penalty shoot-out REUTERS/John Sibley
I don’t like to see players being injured. No real fan does.
But still, I was partly amused by the news at the weekend that first John Souttar will be out for months and then Tom Lawrence would be. Ibrox has an injury list that would scare a Russian infantry regiment.
Souttar and Lawrence are new signings.
They were brought to the club in the summer window amidst much fanfare, in the same way that other players with odd injury records have been over the years.
When they signed Ramsey in January Juventus fans actually mocked the Ibrox club with their thanks for freeing up an infirmary bed.
No-one should be surprised by any of this.
Who is doing the medicals over there? Josef Mengele?
What has happened at Ibrox that the injuries are piling up like snow drifts?
Do you remember a piece I did two years back about how caffeine and other substances are now rife in football, but that the downside is pushing players beyond their physical endurance?
Does that explain this? Or is it something else?
Their team doctor recently left the club, and he was not the only one of their medical staff to depart. Whatever secret Gerrard’s team knew which saw them largely escape a crisis like this … well, that secret went with him and his coaching team to Villa.
But even if those guys had still been there, John Souttar has been injury prone for years. Tom Lawrence was described by some of his previous club’s fans as made out of glass.
Ramsey spent more time in the stand at Ibrox than he did out on the pitch, as many of us predicted he would on the day that he signed. Davies is in the team now … but watch how long for.
You just know that he’s going to drop out any day now.
One obvious advantage of going for an injury prone player is that you pretty much have the field to yourself. Most other clubs don’t want anything to do with him.
Ibrox has signed a fair few of those over the years too. Niko Kranjcar anyone?
You’d think these people would learn. But they never, ever do.
