Following an injury sustained during Saturday’s Scottish Cup Final loss to Celtic, Cyriel Dessers will have scans this week to ascertain how long he will be sidelined.
A right leg protection boot was worn by Dessers as he exited the stadium before halftime, according to Glasgow World, after Gers manager Philippe Clement was forced to substitute the 29-year-old forward due to an ankle injury at Hampden Park.
Speaking post-match, Dessers said, “I got injured in the first half, after around 25 minutes, it’s my ankle.
“I tried to go on because obviously it was the game of the year, the big final at the end of the season, one big push. But I had to come off. I’ll get it assessed in the next few days.”
“I tried to go on because obviously it was the game of the year, the big final at the end of the season, one big push. But I had to come off. I’ll get it assessed in the next few days.”
The 29-year-old arrived Ibrox from Italian club Cremonese last summer.
He managed 22 goals across all competitions for Philippe Clement’s side this season.
But Dessers injury may force Clement’s hand in his search for a new striker in the summer transfer window.
If, as Clement expects, he has torn ankle ligaments, the Nigeria international may not be back in full training until the start of next season.
Dessers has been the Gers’ focal point this season, particularly since Clement’s arrival at Ibrox in mid-October, and scored 22 goals in all competitions as the club’s leading striker
However, his profligacy in the box has seen him receive significant criticism from both pundits and fans, particularly in recent weeks as the Gers’ push for the Premiership title fell away at the final hurdle.
As such, despite breaking the 20-goal barrier during his debut campaign with the light blues, the consensus amongst pundits is that Clement must upgrade his attacking stocks this summer – a consensus established well before Dessers’ ankle injury.
With Scotland’s player of the year Lawrence Shankland reportedly set to become the subject of a bidding war between the two Old Firm rivals, Rangers must ensure they win that particular race if they want to overcome Celtic next season.
A fit-again Dessers playing in tandem with or as an alternative to Shankland would give Rangers an embarrassment of riches up front, and with Danilo and potentially Sam Lammers to add to the mix, the Nigerian’s ankle injury could prove to be a blessing in disguise for the Gers, forcing them to speed up their most necessary piece of summer transfer business.
