Timing of Chermiti injury could not be worse

From my vantage point in the main stand at Ibrox, I winced as soon as I saw Youssef Chermiti crumple into a heap behind Raphael Sallinger's goal. He immediately raised his arm, signalling he was in agony and that he needed urgent attention. It was instantly clear his game was over. What Rangers will now be hoping is his entire season isn't finished. A cruciate ligament injury is by definition a serious one. The fact the club are already signalling he's out for a "significant period" tells its own story. The timing could not have been worse and Derek McInnes will be starting to wonder if the early days of his tenure at Ibrox are jinxed. On the very day Rangers turned down a substantial bid - reported to be £22m - for Chermiti, he suffers an injury that will rule him out for months. The board had a decision to make: look to bank a significant deal and rest him against Hibs or reject the "unsolicited" offer and play him. If they could turn back time... Chairman Andrew Cavenagh says "three to five" new faces will still be recruited, and that will be music to McInnes' ears. He may now need a new striker, with Chermiti out. Lawrence Shankland is still to get his Rangers career off the mark and Ryan Naderi doesn't look like the answer to the team's current lack of goals. Bojan Miovski is still on the books but is yet to play a competitive minute for his new manager. McInnes started Chermiti in both of the past two matches but must now find the goals to see off Poland's Jagiellonia Bialystok in Europa League qualifying without him.