Leon Balogun limped out of the game against Hibs early in the first half with an apparent hamstring issue, in a very unwelcome further injury setback.
The Nigerian international made a decent early impression on Wednesday evening, following on from a positive showing against Hearts on Sunday. Now he faces a spell on the sidelines with the initial prognosis unknown.
Too early for news on Balogun, will be assessed tomorrow.
— Heart & Hand Podcast (@ibroxrocks) February 9, 2022
With Fil Helander just about to make a return, it provides a headache in central defence that Gio van Bronckhorst could do without.
Now on Saturday against Annan, there could be a requirement for the Sweden international to return to get minutes under his belt as well as the likes of James Sands, Leon King and Jack Simpson coming into consideration.
Calvin Bassey has proved to be an able deputty in the heart of defence but that in itself is another issue, with the worrying lack of form and confidence shown by Brona Barisic just now. The Croatian returned to the pitch due to Balogun’s departure against Hibs but he was far from assured, as acknowledged by the Ibrox crowd on more than one occasion.
The next few days will tell the tale as to the extent of the injury for Balogun, but even if the substitution was a precaution, we are unlikely to see him for the next two to three weeks. That would be the best possible outcome with the threat of worse to be confirmed.