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Derek McInnes issues update on damage of Rangers injury crisis as two key areas targeted in transfer market Light Blues boss spoke ahead of their Europa League clash Rangers manager Derek McInnes claims Rangers are now firmly in the market for a striker and left-sided defender, following the injuries to forward Youssef Chermiti and left back Tuur Rommens. During the 2-1 Premiership defeat at home to Hibs, Chermiti suffered an ACL injury that will leave him sidelined for a ‘significant’ period of time. To rub salt into the wounds for the Rangers boss, Rommens also picked up a groin strain that will see him out for up to eight weeks. After losing two key plays at a crucial point in the season, McInnes is wasting no time eyeing up replacements. Even without the injury crisis added to the mix, it’s been a difficult start for the new gaffer. Rangers are now tasked with avenging their 2-1 defeat to Polish outfit Jagiellonia Bialystok in their quest for Europa League qualification. With European and domestic fixtures being thrown at the manager from all angles, it’s a far from ideal time to lose two key players. McInnes reacts to Chermiti timeline news Rangers confirmed earlier in the week the severity of the 22-year old’s injury. The club had reportedly received a £22m bid for Chermiti from Galatasaray prior to the Hibs encounter. When asked what his reaction was to the injury timeline news, McInnes responded: “We’re obviously really disappointed. For ourselves, he is a big part of what we wanted to do this season. “He is obviously a talented boy, but for Youssef himself, he is very young. I think the plan was for Youssef to stay, but obviously it was a big number. It was reportedly a bid from - I do not know exactly what the figure was - but the club rejected that. I think the plan was for Youssef to be a big player for us, but every player has got a price. “Whether that would have been met does not really matter; we are talking about something hypothetical. We are obviously looking at strengthening that area of the pitch. Strengthening defensively and in wide areas was a priority, but obviously, losing a player of Youssef’s ability, we need to look at that as well.” .jpeg?trim=0,91,0,91&crop=&width=640&quality=65>) Rangers boss issues Rommens update The Light Blues are lacking options at left back, which is why the Belgian was forced to play three games in quick succession. McInnes also issued an update on the severity of Rommens’ injury and claimed they’re also looking for reinforcements in this area. He added: “Tuur has a groin strain. Worst case, he’ll probably be out for six to eight weeks. Best case, four to six weeks. “We are going to be without him for a couple of weeks, which exacerbates the situation defensively. We are really short on numbers. We need a left-sided defender and we are keen to get that resolved as quickly as possible. With the numbers we have got there, we are playing with fire. “We are a couple of defenders being injured from the situation we are in. We have been going through it now for months, but the good thing is that we have the ability to react. Hopefully, we can react positively and quickly, because I think that is important.”