Danny Rohl counting cost of injuries from international break
Danny Rohl was left counting the cost of the international break as he revealed three first team regulars at Rangers could be out for the rest of the year.
John Souttar was injured in the warm-up of Scotland's World Cup qualifier against Denmark at Hampden Park on Tuesday night and missed the 4-2 win which qualified Steve Clarke's side for next summer's tournament in North America.
Fellow centre-back Derek Cornelius, on loan from Marseille, had to come off in the first half of Canada's game against Venezuela after missing the previous game against Ecuador due to a muscle injury, while Tottenham loanee Mikey Moore, 18, also picked up a knock playing for England Under-19s
Youngster Bailey Rice, who has not been part of Rohl's first team plans, will require surgery while Portugal Under-21 striker Youssef Chermiti and Scotland back-up goalkeeper Liam Kelly also sustained injuries.
Ahead of the William Hill Premiership game against Livingston at Ibrox on Saturday, where out-of-favour defenders Clinton Nsiala, 21 and Emmanuel Fernandez, 24, will come into contention, the former Sheffield Wednesday boss considered his injury list and said: "It's not so easy. Today I need a list because we have a lot of problems.
"I think at first I'm very happy, very proud of my players, what they achieved. I think this is outstanding. It's always fantastic to see this (on international duty).
"But then on the other side, before the international break we had nearly no injuries.
"And now we have John (Souttar) out with a muscle injury. We have to wait (to see) how long.
"Mikey (Moore) is out with a muscle injury. We have to wait to see how long. It's difficult to say at the moment.
"Derek (Cornelius) has to go to a specialist with a muscle injury. Could be a serious one, a big one.
"Bailey (Rice) got an injury last week in training, a muscle injury and will be out for longer.
"Youssef (Chermiti) is a big question mark, he got a kick. Liam (Kelly) is a big question mark.
"Kieran (Dowell), Dujon (Sterling) and Rabbi (Matondo) made a huge step in the training process, but they need minimum one more bigger game before they are really part of the squad. And Findlay (Curtis) is back after a small injury."
Asked to clarify the severity of the injuries in his squad, the former Germany assistant coach replied: "John and Mikey, I hope at the end of December. But it's a muscle injury, it could be 25 days, it could be 40 days. You never know.
"Derek at the moment, I have a little doubt that it's just four weeks, five weeks. It could be longer.
"Yeah and Bailey, today is Bailey's surgery, it's a big one.
"This is football and it happens. I know this because I worked for both sides. For the national team, it's important to have the players.
"It's always an honour to play for your own country. As a club manager, you always want to protect your players, that's what it is, football happens.
"I had some good conversations the last couple of days with some other players. I think it's now also an opportunity to step up.
"It's about solutions and hopefully we have more good solutions."
--
Hear the latest news on Clyde 1 on FM, DAB, smart speaker or the Rayo app.