Rangers manager Philippe Clement has left Hugh Keevins baffled after he made a “peculiar” Rabbi Matondo decision.
The Welsh winger started the Light Blues’ defeat to Celtic at Parkhead but was withdrawn after just 38 minutes of action having gone down earlier in the contest with what appeared to be a hamstring injury.
Reports suggest that the 23-year-old’s latest knock could see him sidelined for up to two months [Chris Jack, 5 September] and Daily Record writer and Clyde 1 pundit has questioned why Clement allowed him to play on.
Speaking on Clyde 1 Superscoreboard (6 September, 1:32:30) he said: “That is a strange one because we were watching the game and immediately they were getting players ready to come on.
“Then after being down for a prolonged period of time, he then played for another 15 minutes and you’re thinking this could be worsening matters.
“Now as far as I read he’s out for six to eight weeks so that is a peculiar business. That doesn’t reflect well because you should have taken the size of action and got him off of the park straight away.”
How long is Rangers winger Rabbi Matondo out injured for at Ibrox?
It was clear that Matondo was not fit to continue long before he came off against Celtic and it was an incredibly strange decision on Clement’s part to leave the Welshman out there despite his obvious injury.
The Rangers boss tends to be a bit too conservative if anything when it comes to dealing with injured or unfit players, but on this occasion, he seemed to take an unnecessary risk that on the face of it has come back to bite him.
Matondo is far from the perfect winger, but he has been one of the Light Blues’ better players when fit this season. Keeping him injury-free and available for selection was a must given the Gers’ difficult start to the campaign.
When he arrived in Glasgow, Clement suggested that he was going to make this side fitter and stronger to avoid these sorts of soft-tissue injuries, but in the last year, it feels as though very little has changed at Ibrox.
Hopefully, the Gers won’t pick up any more knocks before they return from the international break.
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