Rangers boss Graeme Murty has revealed that centre-back David Bates is set to miss at least six weeks of action after damaging his ankle ligaments.
The 21-year-old enforcer had played every game under Murty this calendar year before sustaining the injury against Celtic, and now faces a race to play any further part this season in a massive blow for the club.
Bates was injured when Celtic midfielder Tom Rogic caught him on the ankle while following through after scoring Celtic’s opener in a 3-2 loss for Rangers on Sunday.
Speaking ahead of Rangers’ Premiership clash against Kilmarnock this weekend, Murty has now confirmed that Bates is set for six weeks on the sidelines with the injury.
He was quoted by the club’s official Twitter account on Friday afternoon:
?? GM: David Bates damaged the ligaments in his ankle, likely to be a minimum of six weeks out for David sadly.
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) March 16, 2018
OPINION
Losing Bates for such a long while will be a massive blow for Rangers. It could be argued that his injury is where the game turned for the Gers, as replacement Fabio Cardoso is quite simply not up to standard. As long as fellow centre-back Russell Martin is able to recover from a back injury, and stays fit for the rest of the season, then Gers may be able to avoid a big issue. If that is however not possible, then having to rely on Cardoso may come back to haunt Murty and his men.