Youssef Chermiti's Injury: A Major Setback for Rangers

Youssef Chermiti’s season has been thrown into turmoil after the Rangers striker suffered serious anterior cruciate ligament damage – just hours after the club rejected a major bid for him.

The 22-year-old went down in Sunday’s 2-1 home defeat to Hibernian, crashing into the advertising boards behind Raphael Sallinger’s goal after a heavy challenge. He immediately signalled for help, clutching his knee, and there was no doubt inside Ibrox that his afternoon was finished. Now the fear is that his campaign may be too.

Rangers later confirmed on social media that Chermiti “will be out of action for a significant period of time”, a phrase that tends to accompany the worst kind of medical bulletin in elite football.

A Record Deal, A Brutal Twist

The timing could hardly be more brutal for club or player. Chermiti only arrived at Ibrox from Everton in September 2025, reportedly becoming Rangers’ most expensive signing since Tore Andre Flo back in 2000. The Portuguese under-21 international had begun to justify that price tag: 43 appearances, 30 starts, 15 goals, and the sense that he was growing into the role of Rangers’ main attacking reference point.

On Sunday, he was also the subject of intense transfer speculation. Turkish champions Galatasaray were widely reported to be the club testing Rangers’ resolve, with the offer said to be in the region of £22m.

The board’s decision? Hold their nerve.

At Monday’s shareholders’ meeting, chairman Andrew Cavenagh was asked directly whether it had been wise to play Chermiti with such a sizeable bid on the table. His response was blunt.

“Just because someone lobs an unsolicited offer in on one sheet of paper, you don't yank a player from a really important match,” he said.

That was the call: reject the money, keep the striker on the pitch, chase the result. By full-time, Rangers had lost the game and their most dangerous forward for months. If they could turn back time, the debate inside the boardroom would sound very different.

McInnes Left Counting The Cost

Derek McInnes, still in the early days of his Rangers tenure, now has a problem that goes far beyond tactics. Before kick-off on Sunday, he had been asked about the Galatasaray interest and whether the club were ready to cash in.

“I'm led to believe the club's valuation of the player hasn't been met,” he told BBC Scotland. “It's no surprise that he's a player who's got a big (price) tag on him and he's got high potential, but thankfully he's our player and that will continue to be the case.

“We’re trying to build a team here at the minute and we're trying to still bring additions to the team that helps us add to the good players that we've got, including Youssef. So it's not something we would encourage at any point.”

Within hours, the picture had shifted. Chermiti is still a Rangers player, but he will not be one McInnes can lean on any time soon.

From the main stand, the incident looked ominous. Chermiti crumpled into a heap, arm raised, pain etched across his face. A cruciate ligament injury is, by definition, a serious one. When a club moves so quickly to talk about a “significant period” out, it rarely ends in good news.

Squad Questions, Transfer Pressure

The injury throws McInnes’ attacking plans into sharp focus. Chairman Cavenagh has already promised “three to five” new faces before the window shuts. Those words will sound even sweeter to the manager now, but they also come with urgency attached. Rangers may suddenly need a striker as a priority, not a luxury.

Lawrence Shankland has yet to ignite his Rangers career. Ryan Naderi has not convinced as the solution to the team’s shortage of goals. Bojan Miovski remains on the books, but has yet to play a competitive minute under McInnes. The safety net that Chermiti provided – a proven scorer, a physical presence, a focal point – has been ripped away.

McInnes had started Chermiti in each of the last two matches, building his frontline around the Portuguese forward. That plan is now over. The manager must quickly redraw the blueprint and find goals from elsewhere.

And the clock is ticking. Rangers face Jagiellonia Bialystok in Europa League qualifying, a tie that could shape the financial and sporting tone of their season. They will have to navigate it without the man who was supposed to lead their line.

One rejected offer, one awkward fall, one long road back. Rangers’ resolve has been tested off the pitch. Now their depth, and their ambition, are about to be tested on it.