Derek McInnes has cautioned that Rangers are effectively "playing with fire" after a spate of injuries has left the club with a severely limited pool of defensive options. The Rangers boss disclosed that Tuur Rommens sustained a groin strain in the dying moments of Sunday's Scottish Premiership loss to Hibernian and is now expected to be sidelined for up to eight weeks. This setback compounds an already worrying situation, as the team is also grappling with the loss of forward Youssef Chermiti, who suffered a serious ACL tear in the same match and faces a lengthy rehabilitation period. The injury blow to Chermiti arrives at a time when Rangers have already intensified their hunt for a new striker.
The club’s scouting network has been working overtime, and the manager confirmed that the search for a replacement is a top priority. In the meantime, McInnes admitted that his squad is in need of reinforcement across several areas – specifically at full‑back, wing and forward positions – as the club strives to turn around a disappointing start to the campaign. One of the first signings to address those needs will be Couhaib Driouech, a winger who is set to join Rangers from PSV for a fee reported to be around £6.5 million. McInnes explained that bolstering the defensive line and adding width were key objectives during the recent transfer window, but losing a player of Chermiti’s calibre has forced the club to reassess its attacking options as well.
"Strengthening defensively, strengthening in wide areas was a priority. But obviously losing a player of Youssef's ability, we need to look at that one as well," McInnes said ahead of Thursday's Europa League qualifier against Polish side Jagiellonia Białystok. "We don't have an array of options defensively.
We don't have a left‑footed defender in the building and we're keen to try and get that resolved as quickly as possible." He went on to describe the current situation as precarious: "I do think that with the numbers we've got there, we are playing with fire and we are a couple of defenders being injured. The good thing is we've got the ability to react to it and hopefully we can react positively." The timing of Chermiti’s injury was particularly unfortunate, as it came just hours after reports emerged that Rangers had turned down a substantial offer from Galatasaray for the young forward. McInnes was quick to clarify that the club had no intention of letting the striker leave this summer.
"The plan was for Youssef to be a big part of it for us," he asserted. "One minute you're flying high and you've got the full season ahead of you and a lot of loftier ambitions for yourself, then obviously he's had to deal with this injury." When asked about the club's strategy for replacing the injured number nine, McInnes acknowledged the difficulty of finding a suitable replacement. "The number nines are normally the most difficult ones to get. We will try to get the right one that would complement what we've got at the top of the pitch.
Obviously, we're looking for a bit of pace at the top of the pitch, ideally something similar to what Youssef did," he explained. Rangers have collected just a single point from their opening two league fixtures and now travel to face Jagiellonia in the second leg of their Europa League qualifying tie, trailing 2‑1 from the first encounter.
The manager stressed that the upcoming European night, which will be played in front of a 50,000‑strong crowd, will be a test of the squad’s resilience. "We understand that it's not always going to be sunshine and rainbows, I got the job for a reason," the former Hearts manager said.
"There are a lot of changes indeed, and there's a lot of turning around of the squad. Of course, it's not been as straightforward as I hoped, and we want to enjoy the job a lot better than it is at the minute. It's part of being a manager.
There are ups and downs, but it's about coping with the difficult times. It defines you, and I think it's up to us now to knuckle down, stay calm, work really swiftly in recruitment." In summary, McInnes is confronting a perfect storm of defensive frailties, a missing striker, and a shaky start to the season. While the club has already secured the signing of Driouech to add depth on the wing, the manager emphasised that further recruitment – particularly a left‑footed centre‑back and a new centre‑forward – will be essential if Rangers hope to stabilise their performances and progress in Europe. The coming weeks will test the club’s ability to adapt quickly, manage injuries, and integrate new signings while maintaining the ambition of competing for domestic and continental honours.