Injury blows, international losses and pressure mounting on THREE managers. We may be less than two months into the new Scottish Premiership season, but there is already plenty of drama and talking points. While Rangers and Celtic will have to cope without key players for very different reasons, some managers are already feeling the heat after a struggling start.
Martin O'Neill's Hoops remain the only team on maximum points and are already 16 points ahead of the league's current bottom side, Kilmarnock. Lawrence Shankland could be facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines just as he was finding his feet at Rangers. The striker appeared to suffer a hamstring injury in Saturday's win against Motherwell - an issue which kept him out at Hearts for three months last season.
Ryan Naderi did come on to score the only goal against the Steelmen and Rangers did bring in £9m striker Kevin Kelsy on deadline day, so you could argue it is not an area they are short in. But, Shankland's injury comes after they had already lost forward Youssef Chermiti for a "significant period" with an ACL injury. There is also Bojan Miovski, but he has struggled to get a consistent run since his move to Ibrox from Girona last summer.
He scored 13 in all competitions in his first season at Ibrox, averaging a goal every 142 minutes. Naderi's average for Rangers last season was a goal every 203 minutes. Compare that to Shankland's average under McInnes at Hearts last season - that was a goal every 86.5 minutes.
Hyun -Jun Yang scored the winner for Celtic at St Mirren and is becoming an instrumental player as they made it five victories from five in the Premiership this season. But, they will now have to cope without him for their next four games as he heads off to the Asian Cup with South Korea. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player From a player who almost left the club in January, to excelling under Martin O'Neill's guidance.
Two goals and an assist in seven games show his influence this season. Last term, he scored 10 goals and provided three assists. Yang is impressive on the flanks and would likely be the first choice on the left were it not for his international commitments.
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