Philippe Clement has suffered another damaging blow at Rangers with Abdallah Sima now potentially out for most of January.
The Brighton loanee star has been included in the official Senegal squad for the African Cup of Nations, meaning he could now miss up to five games for Rangers, as per Heart & Hand.
The official Rangers partner shared the news on Twitter, with Sima possibly missing games against Dumbarton, Hibernian, St Mirren, Livingston and Aberdeen depending on Senegal’s progress in the tournament.
With the competition running from 13 January to 11 February, the forward could be missing for almost an entire month of games in a serial blow for Clement and Rangers as they aim to maintain their assault on Celtic’s lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
Sima is the top scorer at Ibrox this season, with his 14 goals proving vital to Rangers’ progress both in the Scottish Premiership and in the Europa League.
In the SPFL, the attacker has recorded nine goals and two assists from 18 games and his presence and influence in attack is sure to be missed at Ibrox, especially with Rangers struggling for a regular and consistent goalscorer.
The arrival of Fabio Silva on loan from Wolves will certainly ease the burden of the Senegalese star’s exit for January but his absence will be keenly felt. There’s a case to argue that none of Clement’s current attacking weaponry possesses the pace and devastating presence of Sima.
The injury issues at the club so far this season have been dreadful and Clement has made his frustrated stance clear on numerous occasions so losing a player of Sima’s quality and current form will be a huge blow.
Whether Clement’s squad is strong enough to cope without Sima is another matter entirely. Rabbi Matondo, Scott Wright, Ross McCausland, and Todd Cantwell are all capable of filling in but doubts persist over their influence and quality in front of goal.
The possibility that Sima could miss five games for Rangers means they will have to find a way to plug the gap he will leave during that time.
Silva’s signing could prove an excellent stop-gap but it’s vitally important that expectations remain at a fair level in order for the Portuguese striker to bed in.
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