Lawrence Shankland will be out for at least three months – but could be on the sidelines until the new year after Rangers learned the exact extent of his injury. The striker went off in the early stages of the Ibrox side's 1-0 win over Motherwell, with Ryan Naderi, who went on to score the game-winning goal, replacing him.
Manager confirms tear severity
Derek McInnes revealed after the game that it was a similar injury to the one that kept him out for over three months for Hearts last season. Now it's understood that a 12-week absence is the best case scenario. Worst case, Shankland could face up to four months out – which could keep him out until January.
“We've had confirmation he has had a grade 2c tear in his hamstring, very similar to the one he did at Hearts in January. He is now getting a follow-up scan with a specialist in London to determine if he has surgery or allows it to heal naturally.
Decision on surgery pending
“If he has the surgery it may be three or four weeks less, but maybe that increases the risk again. I could see when he walked off at the weekend he knew it was significant.
“It was his very first sprint after two and a half minutes standing about [due to VAR] breaking down. He came back really smoothly last time and got to the World Cup.”
