New injury blow for Rangers could see Nicolas Raskin pitched straight in

Rangers could be set to deploy Nicolas Raskin much quicker than expected after star midfielder John Lundstram went for a scan on a ‘nasty’ ankle knock and may be ruled out for several weeks, depending on the results.

The Belgian midfielder couldn’t have picked a better time to impress on his brief debut cameo, showing the same kind of touch, hunger and quality as his fellow January addition Todd Cantwell, as he got stuck about for the late stages in Govan.

And Lundstram’s injury, which forced him off inside 10 minutes, could see Raskin used a lot more already than maybe even he was expecting.

With neither he nor Glen Kamara being used to replace Rangers’ titanic midfielder as he hobbled off, the former Liege man had to wait till later, but used his chance well when given it.

And this is why Rangers have a tonne of midfielders and a lot of depth in there.

Ryan Jack is already regarded as a permanent injury-case. Fit for now, we could not guess how long for, so he’s a kind of luxury, so the signing of Raskin helps there. But as things stand, the Belgian, Kamara and Jack are definitely fit and Lundstram’s potential absence shouldn’t hurt the performances too much.

But it’s still a blow. He’s a strong and commanding presence in the middle who plays for the shirt, the fans and his team mates, so losing him isn’t great – we’ll forgive that horrific pass early on which nearly cost a goal.

In general he’s reliable and dependable, and you don’t want to lose anyone, even if you have strength in depth.

But this could well be Raskin’s time now, with Glen Kamara surprisingly rested for County despite his strong performance midweek.

And while we didn’t get to see a lot of the 21-year-old, we saw enough to know his attitude is spot on and he’s a talented and eager young man. He’s not like-for-like with Lundstram, but offers something a bit different. One thing Rangers lack in the middle is pace, and Raskin is definitely no slouch.

But we’ll wait on the Lunny news first.