Rangers have been dealt a big blow with the news that a key player will miss the Scottish Cup final clash with Celtic, according to an injury expert.
Rangers gearing up for final showdown
The Gers' Scottish Premiership title hopes received a hammer blow over the weekend, with Saturday's 2-1 defeat away to Celtic leaving them six points adrift of their rivals and needing a genuine miracle to scoop the top prize from here.
A nightmare afternoon for John Lundstram saw him score an own goal and also receive a red card, with their chances of title glory now looking extremely slim thanks to a moment of madness from the soon to be free agent.
All hope is not lost for Philippe Clement and his players this season, however, and if they do just fall short in the league, there is still another trophy on offer to add to their Scottish League Cup from earlier in the campaign.
On May 25th, Rangers take on the Hoops at Hampden Park on another massive occasion, in what could end up being a revenge mission for them. In order for them to have the possible chance of glory, however, they need as many key players available as possible, and one important individual now definitely won't be taking part.
Rangers handed injury blow before cup final
Speaking to Ibrox News, injury expert Dr. Rajpal Brar said that Danilo will miss Rangers' cup final showdown with Celtic, after hopes had risen following images of him returning to the training pitches. Brar insists that given he is still away from the full team sessions in the images, a return this season is virtually impossible.
"Considering how long he’s been out and the fact he just got back to the field and is only doing straight line running, there could still be a bit of time before he’s back in first team training.
"I would expect him to be back at the start of pre-season and he may do some individual work ahead of time in order to get back his mobility. He does seem a month away from training with the same intensity as the rest of the team."
While not necessarily the biggest shock, having confirmation that Danilo will play no part against Celtic certainly has an adverse effect on their chances of beating their biggest adversaries.
Sadly, injuries have robbed the 25-year-old of making a genuine impact this season, but he has still scored four goals in five Scottish Premiership starts – 12 appearances in the competition in total – showing that he has been fairly prolific when available. Clement is a big admirer, too, saying of him earlier in the campaign: "He has killer capacities in the box, he’s a goalscorer.
"I want to make him a striker who works hard not only thinking about scoring goals because that’s a part we need, he has the individual actions to make a difference."
James Tavernier
20
Cyriel Dessers
17
Abdallah Sima
15
Danilo
6
Todd Cantwell
6
Rabbi Matondo
5
The aim for Danilo, who is one of the club's highest earners, will be to get back to full fitness during the summer, before returning to the Rangers side next season and enjoying an injury-free campaign. Eleven goal contributions (six goals and five assists) in 21 appearances has been a promising start, but there is hopefully so much more to come.