Glasgow Rangers manager Michael Beale looks set to be boosted by the return of Connor Goldson before the crucial Scottish Cup semi-final at the end of the month.
What’s the latest on Connor Goldson’s injury?
The Rangers' defender wasn’t named in the starting XI against Celtic last weekend due to suffering a hip problem prior to the match and the club slumped to a 3-2 defeat.
There was uncertainty over how long the centre-back would remain absent, however, Beale has delivered some good news ahead before the club take on St Mirren.
Speaking to RangersTV (via Rangers Review), Beale has stated that Goldson will be available for the tie against Aberdeen next week:
"From last weekend, Connor won’t return. He’ll be more likely to back for Aberdeen, or certainly the semi-final at the end of the month.”
How important is Connor Goldson to Rangers?
The answer in a nutshell is he is absolutely vital to the club if they want to achieve glory in the Scottish Cup this term.
John Souttar started in place of Goldson last weekend and committed a major error which gifted Celtic their third goal. The Scot mishit a back pass to Allan McGregor and the 41-year-old – arguably the slowest person on the pitch – failed to get to the ball before Jota, who slotted it home.
With Ben Davies making a mistake just minutes prior, Goldson is urgently needed back in the Rangers' defence in order to provide a cool head and offer words of reassurance to his partner.
The £3m signing from Brighton five years ago has missed just 14 matches due to injury during that time, proving to be an incredibly reliable player for the club.
During his absence earlier this season, the Ibrox side won just five of their ten matches without Goldson, conceding 13 goals and since returning, they have lost just twice in 20 games, coincidence? Absolutely not.
There is a reason why he was dubbed a “rock” by Sky Sports producer Andrew Dickson last season and across his 23 matches in the Premiership this season, he has kept 12 clean sheets, made 1.5 tackles and three clearances per game along with winning an impressive 67% of his total duels, and he is comfortably Beale’s finest defender.
The manager can use his absence to perhaps give a player who hasn’t had much game time of late a run out against St Mirren tomorrow, but with the news that he should be fit and firing ahead of the Scottish Cup semi-final, Beale could breathe a big sigh of relief.