Youssef Chermiti Faces Long Injury Layoff After ACL Damage

Youssef Chermiti’s season has been ripped apart just days after Rangers refused to cash in on their emerging No 9.

The 22-year-old striker faces a long spell out with anterior cruciate ligament damage, suffered in Sunday’s 2-1 home defeat to Hibernian after he crashed into the advertising boards following a heavy challenge. The club confirmed on social media that he “will be out of action for a significant period of time” – the bleakest of phrases for any forward whose game leans on power and movement.

For Rangers, the timing could hardly be more brutal. For Chermiti, it is devastating.

Only hours before kick-off, Derek McInnes had been addressing interest from Turkish champions Galatasaray, who were reported to have tested Rangers’ resolve with an offer for the Portuguese forward. The manager was clear: the bid fell short and the club had no intention of selling.

“I’m led to believe the club’s valuation of the player hasn’t been met,” McInnes told BBC Scotland. He spoke about a player with “a big (price) tag” and “high potential”, stressing his relief that Chermiti remained his. Rangers, he said, were building around talents like the young centre forward, not inviting offers for them. “It’s not something we would encourage at any point.”

Hours later, the project he talked up lost one of its cornerstones.

Chermiti arrived at Ibrox from Everton in September 2025, reportedly becoming the club’s most expensive signing since Tore Andre Flo back in 2000. That price tag brought expectation, but he had begun to justify the investment: 43 appearances in Rangers colours, 30 of them starts, and 15 goals to show for his first chapter in Glasgow. Capped at under-21 level by Portugal, he looked every inch a striker on the rise, the kind of asset that tempts bids from clubs like Galatasaray.

Now, the conversation shifts from market value to recovery timelines and rehabilitation plans.

The collision that caused the damage looked innocuous at first glance, the kind of incident that usually ends with a grimace and a quick return to the pitch. Instead, Rangers have lost their main reference point up front for what is likely to be many months, and McInnes has to reshape a forward line he was still trying to refine.

The manager spoke before the Hibs match about “trying to build a team” and add to “the good players that we’ve got, including Youssef”. That blueprint remains, but the tools at his disposal have changed overnight. The club’s most significant attacking investment in a generation is suddenly unavailable, just when interest from abroad underlined his growing stature.

Rangers turned down the money and backed the player. Now they have to back him through the hardest stretch of his young career.