Football is a cruel mistress at times, with Glasgow Rangers skipper Lawrence Shankland struck down by injury, just as he’d begun to find his groove at Ibrox.
Following an initial slow start for the 31-year-old, Shankland had been the hero heading into Saturday’s meeting with Motherwell, scoring three goals in just two Premiership outings prior to that.
Mere minutes into the weekend win, however, the Scotland international saw his recent momentum curtailed by a hamstring blow, now potentially facing three months on the sidelines as a result.
Even with Youssef Chermiti absent himself, the Gers do at least have options in the centre-forward ranks, albeit having potentially already let the perfect alternative leave for nothing.
How Rangers can replace Shankland after injury nightmare
With the Old Firm looming on Sunday, the news of Shankland’s lengthy setback couldn’t have come at a worse time, not least with the experienced striker typically so deadly against Celtic, netting eight times in just 16 meetings with the club to date.
Alas, this will be where Derek McInnes’ strength in depth is tested, with it fair to say the Light Blues have invested in this department, signing five strikers in just the space of 12 months at Ibrox.
With Chermiti out of the equation, McInnes’ first-choice pick might well be Ryan Naderi, the German making an instant impression off the bench against the Steelmen.
Still in the early days of his Rangers career, the 23-year-old’s record of six goals in 19 games isn’t too eye-catching, with the arrival of new man Kevin Kelsy set to provide intense competition for places.
The £9m Venezuelan, who debuted last time out, has scored ten goals already in 2026 back in the United States, nine of which came in MLS for Portland Timbers.
Throwing him into the mix in the derby might be a bit of risk, however, with there still forgotten man, Bojan Miovski, to consider, the Macedonian more similar in style to Shankland as a pure goalscorer.
The 27-year-old has been restricted to just ten minutes of Premiership action this season, having scored 13 goals in a disappointing debut campaign for the ex-Girona and Aberdeen man.
Quite who McInnes goes for remains to be seen, yet for all the investment at the top end of the pitch, Rangers might be rueing a notable departure of the recent past.
Rangers already offloaded Scotland’s “future number nine”
Both since and prior to Alfredo Morelos’ exit, the centre-forward position has been such an issue at Ibrox, with a string of high-profile names failing to flourish in a Rangers shirt.
|
Selected Recent Rangers Strikers |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Player |
Games |
Goals |
|
Dessers |
116 |
51 |
|
Danilo |
76 |
16 |
|
Igamane |
49 |
16 |
|
Chermiti |
44 |
15 |
|
Miovski |
45 |
13 |
|
Lammers |
31 |
2 |
|
Fabio Silva |
25 |
6 |
|
Naderi |
19 |
6 |
|
Shankland |
10 |
4 |
Be it Cyriel Dessers, Sam Lammers or Danilo, among others, far too many have underwhelmed amid this period of turbulence and managerial upheaval.
Shankland, when fit and firing, should hopefully buck the trend, yet even then, the ex-Hearts man might not have been needed in the first place if Rangers had put faith in their academy ranks.
Indeed, young Robbie Ure remains a tale of one that got away as far as the Glasgow giants are concerned, with the 22-year-old now looking like a potential star of the future for both club and country.
Previously part of the Rangers’ youth set-up, Ure did actually make three first-team appearances for the club, scoring in the League Cup against Queen of the South. The last of those outings, meanwhile, came in the Premiership as a substitute against St Mirren back in November 2022.
By the summer of 2023, the young Glaswegian was on his way after rejecting a contract extension at Ibrox, instead joining Anderlecht’s reserve team on a free transfer.
12 goals in 38 games in Belgium’s second tier followed, and while he only made one appearance for Anderlecht’s senior side, he has flourished remarkably well since then.
Hailed only recently as the “future Scotland No.9” by analyst John Walker, Ure proved prolific after joining Swedish outfit Sirius in March 2025, netting 31 goals in just 50 games for the club in all competitions.
His form in the first-half of 2026 was truly outrageous, scoring 15 goals in just 15 Allsvenskan games, as well as netting five times in just five domestic cup games.
For context, as already noted, Kelsy has scored just ten goals this calendar year back in Portland, while for Shankland, he’s scored 11 since the turn of the year, seven of which came back at Hearts.
Ure is the man with real momentum behind him, having only recently sealed a £9m move to LaLiga outfit, Sevilla, winning a penalty on debut against Rayo Vallecano, while also registering an assist against Atletico Madrid.
Still only 22, Ure looks like being the man to lead Scotland’s new era as the centre-point of the attack, ready to rival Shankland for that coveted starting spot.
To think Rangers let him slip from their grasp truly is frustrating, not least considering the millions spent on trying to solve this problem position in recent times.