Ibrox Injury Crisis Keeps Getting Deeper As Their Turkish Left Back Joins The Crocks.

The injury crisis at Ibrox is getting deeper.

We already know how many of their players are out at the moment; today their new left back, the expensive Turkish one, joined them on the treatment table. He lasted a mere seven minutes of today’s game before going off with a bad hamstring pull.

Even more than the players who are out are the number of them – quite a big number if you believe what you hear – who are “playing through the pain barrier” and taking injections to get through matches. We know Lundstram is just one of them, and it’s suspected that Leon King is another. These guys can’t do that indefinitely without risking breakdown.

So what’s going on over there just now? We had some injuries last season, and a couple this season so far, but I can’t remember any scenario where we had the number of long-term crocks as they have right now, and every time one comes back he’s a shoe-in to be out injured again shortly afterwards, and for a longer period of time.

Some of their key medical staff left with Gerrard. Others have left since.

What did they replace these guys with? The cast of ER?

There’s something just not right about it, it’s as if their players were pushed way harder last season than they should have been and are breaking down over it. I wrote a couple of years back about the use of caffeine and other stimulants in football, and how it has to be used over a cycle which gives you one really bad season out of every three … or players start to get injured.

Lots of them. And not just little knocks, but heavy duty stuff.

Is that what this is? Have two seasons of over-exerting resulted in this?

Is that why half of the medical team has gone? That they want no part in this?

I am speculating, but when did you ever know a side to do the same things between one year and the next and end up with a situation like this? Rodgers first season had plenty of injuries and so did Ange’s … this is what happens when you are trying new stuff. But Ibrox is nearly two years into the Van Bronckhorst cycle … so this is harder to explain.