Rangers already have enough problems, on and off the pitch.
There is the stadium issue, the failure to secure Champions League action, the stodgy football, the exiling of Todd Cantwell, and a run of one win in four games to start the new season.
So Philippe Clement could have done without an injury crisis being thrown into the mix.
Now, perhaps ‘crisis’ is a bit strong. Leon Balogun should return pretty soon, while Nicolas Raskin may also be back in contention within a few weeks.
But after losing Oscar Cortes on the opening weekend, and with Ridvan Yilmaz potentially now a long-term absentee himself, things are threatening to get worse before they get better at Rangers.
Yilmaz, now Rangers’ first-choice left-back after Borna Barisic left for Trabzonspor, went down clutching his thigh during the 2-0 midweek defeat to Dynamo Kyiv.
He was stretchered off shortly after, a look of anguish on his face.
And while Clement was quick to play down new worries over Danilo – this was not so much a limp, he said, but just how the striker walks – his continued absence is starting to become a growing cause for serious concern amongst fans and pundits alike.
Danilo is still yet to return to action for Rangers
Danilo has not featured at all this season.
In fact, he’s not been seen in competitive action since early December, sustaining a serious knee injury against Hearts over seven months ago now.
Former Rangers hitman Kris Boyd believes that an increasingly crowded treatment table means some awkward questions must be answered, directing his frustrations not only towards Clement but also Head of Performance Tom Taylor.
“Some people will no doubt accuse me of being out-dated and point to my physique when I played,” Boyd tells the Scottish Sun. “Bring it on.
“But I was very rarely injured, and I can promise you I rarely missed a training session. I might not have been the quickest but I managed to score 300 career goals.
“If Walter Smith had listened to the sports science guys then maybe I wouldn’t have been on the pitch to do that.”
Now, Boyd may potentially be barking up the wrong tree. Freak injuries can happen to any club, after all.
But the ex-Kilmarnock talisman cannot help but wonder if Yilmaz’s pain could have been avoided. Or, for that matter, when on earth Danilo will make his return amid the recent radio silence over the £6 million centre-forward.
The excitement at a potential re-capturing of that old Danilo – Vaclav Cerny partnership has dissipated pretty quickly.
Philippe Clement also loses left-back Ridvan Yilmaz
“Ridvan Yilmaz has also had injury problems over the years,” Boyd adds. “If the sport science experts were so good, then surely they’d have recognised that his body was fatigued to pick up the injury he’s suffered.
“I’ll tell you what they should be doing, though, and that’s making sure that £6 million Danilo is ready to perform. I know he’s been out for seven months with an injury, but someone will really need to explain to me why he’s not yet up to speed.
“Maybe Clement is trying to protect people behind the scenes with the way he’s talking. But I don’t like what I’m hearing from the Rangers manager right now.
“He’s not sounding like the guy who first took charge and I’d love to know why.”
In the absence of Danilo – and with Hamza Igamane not yet trusted for a first-team role – Rangers are suddenly even more reliant upon the eternally hit-or-miss Cyriel Dessers.
Should Yilmaz be ruled out for an extended period, meanwhile, that may offer Jefte the chance to make the left-back spot his own.
