Who will carry Rangers' goal threat after 'significant' Shankland injury?

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Just when Lawrence Shankland was finding his form as a Rangers striker and captain, rediscovering his lethal touch in front of goal, he was struck down by injury.

With barely five minutes gone in Saturday's 1-0 victory over Motherwell, Shankland grasped his hamstring and immediately signalled to the bench that he was done.

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It looked bad at the time, and manager Derek McInnes confirmed as much.

"It looks quite significant," he told BBC Scotland after the game. "It's a similar injury we think that he had at Hearts last January.

"We'll get the scan done on Monday and see how it looks then rather than speculating. It's disappointing because he was leading the line and scoring a few goals in the last couple of games.

"There were more positives than negatives from today, but that was a negative."

After three goals in the previous two games - decisive contributions in wins at Aberdeen and Falkirk - Shankland's injury comes at a particularly bad time, for him and for Rangers.

With fellow striker Youssef Chermiti expected to be out for a lengthy period after suffering anterior cruciate ligament damage against Hibernian last month, Rangers are now left without their two leading strikers.

They were good value for their win over Motherwell, but with the number of chances they created, it should have been more comfortable.

"If Lawrence Shankland was on the pitch throughout, he'd be walking away with a couple of goals," former Rangers midfielder Andy Halliday said on Sportsound.

"Rangers were a bit toothless at the top end of the pitch given the chances they created, but well worth their victory."

'Kelsy and Naderi don't look natural finishers'

Ryan Naderi scored the only goal of the game, capitalising on a shocking blunder from Motherwell keeper Alex Paulsen to roll the ball into an empty net.

The big striker is a willing worker, but can he deliver the sort of goalscoring numbers that Shankland has consistently produced in the Scottish Premiership?

Naderi scored three goals in his 11 games last season after joining Rangers in January, two of which came in the 8-0 Scottish Cup rout of Queen's Park.

The German has scored three in eight appearances this season - one fewer than Shankland's four goals in 10 games.

Since joining Rangers, he has averaged a goal every 189 minutes. That figure is 146 minutes for Shankland stretching back to the start of last season for Hearts.

The only striker on Rangers' books whose stats compare favourably with Shankland is Bojan Miovski, who averages a goal every 148 minutes. However, the former Aberdeen favourite has found it difficult to get a consistent run in the side.

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Kevin Kelsy will come into the mix following his arrival from MLS side Portland Timbers.

The Venezuelan had a golden opportunity to announce himself on his debut against Motherwell when presented with a big chance following Jake Girdwood-Reich's error, but showed little composure as he failed to find the target from 10 yards.

Of course it is far too early to rush to judgement on Kelsy's ability to fill the Shankland void, but 13 goals in his last 46 games – averaging one every 190 minutes – would suggest Rangers have not signed an out-and-out goalscorer.

"Rangers missed too many chances, particularly in that second half," former Ibrox midfielder Ian McCall said on Sportsound. "Shankland's injury is a worry because Kelsy and Naderi don't look natural finishers."

After some of the unimaginative, uninspiring and ultimately unsuccessful attacking play his side served up in those early European qualifiers, the encouraging sign for McInnes in the victory over Motherwell was his team's ability to attack with more purpose and create numerous clear-cut chances.

With Shankland now set for a spell on the sidelines, Rangers need someone to step up and take them.

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