Rangers' David Bates faces scan on ankle injury but has no broken bones

David Bates is stretchered off during the first half of Rangers' loss to Celtic. Picture: PA

The 21-year-old was caught by Tom Rogic’s follow through when the Hoops midfielder fired past Gers keeper Wes Foderingham to make it 1-1 and was carried from the field on a stretcher with only 15 minutes played.

Manager Graeme Murty told RangersTV: “David is going to have a scan on his ankle, he has not broken it.

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“It is a freak injury, he steps to the ball and goes to try and make a block and the ball flicks off his shin which takes it out of Wes’ grasp and as Rogic has a shot he comes down on David’s ankle.

“It looked a nasty one at the time and David is obviously upset but we won’t know the extent of it until we have it scanned.

“He is off at the moment with his foot up, he has got a very fat ankle and we are very disappointed for him.

“We are taking our time to make sure we get the assessment done properly and get a proper prognosis and a timescale in due course.

“We don’t know how long we have lost him for. We had lost Russell Martin prior to the game too.

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“It is difficult when you take someone who has been performing well out of the team but then that is an opportunity for someone else to come in.”

On reflection Murty conceded that he was perhaps too critical of his team in the aftermath of the loss.

Following his first defeat in three games against the champions, he had said: “We squandered a real good opportunity to apply some pressure.”

Murty, referring to striker Alfredo Morelos hitting the post from a couple of yards out in the final moments and with one eye on the William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic next month, said: “People feel free to shoot me down if you want but I was really down after the game and really down on us because we had let that opportunity slip.

“I was really down on our tempo, our passing of the ball and the goals we conceded.

“Since watching the game back and looking at it, there is lots I have to be positive about and there is lots we can enhance and get better at.

“But for the width of a goal post I am sitting here with a smile on my face.

“I think I have had significant defeats before for other reasons but this is my first defeat against Celtic.

“It is my first defeat where people have walked into the game thinking we are going to win it.

“Let’s not forget the first game I took charge of against Celtic we were touted as the worst Rangers team ever and we were going to get beaten 8-0, so we have come a distance.

“We are closer to them than we were but the disappointment will come from that sense of having an opportunity and letting it go.”

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