Giovanni van Bronckhorst was right to welcome the break in regards to having more players available after the restart but when will this injury madness end?
The return of key first team players from the treatment table will be a positive update but it has to be a concern that other players continue to be plagued with injuries and muscle problems in particular. Fashion Sakala went down against St Johnstone in Perth last Sunday whilst James Sands had an issue in midweek although he is thought to be in contention fo the visit to St Mirren.
Now we are aware of a short-term concern for Antonio Colak that will rule him out of the last game before the break but seemingly no more than that. The Croatian’s complaint is the latest of a long string of injury problems this season which needs to be fully examined. Injuries are part of the game obviously, but the squad can’t afford for the same pattern to plague the rest of the season.
Squeezing the European campaigns into a condensed period in recent weeks has added to demands and workloads on the players, particularly the toil of Champions League action for this Rangers team, but that will not be a factor after the New Year.
Questions on the team’s fitness and conditioning will remain so it will be interesting to see how this develops in the coming months. In that regard, the World Cup break must be maximised for recovery and fitness purposes, especially those on the comeback trail so that no further immediate issues arise.