Lovenkrands injury mars Rangers win
Rangers manager Alex McLeish was keeping his fingers crossed that Peter Lovenkrands was not badly injured after the matchwinner was carried off on a stretcher at Partick Thistle today.
The Danish forward was caught by a late tackle from Ian Ross after giving the Ibrox side the points at Firhill – but the early signs were that his ankle was not broken.
“We are worried about the injury,” McLeish told BBC Scotland.
“We will have to wait until tomorrow to see the extent but I don’t believe it’s broken.
“I think it’s badly twisted and he would be doubtful for the CIS Cup semi-final (against Hibernian).
“According to reports it is a late challenge. Michael Ball was booked for what I would say a less serious tackle than that minutes before.
“I know Ian Ross is not a dirty player but from the slow motion it looked a bad tackle.”
The win saw Rangers close the gap on runaway leaders Celtic back to 11 points but it left Partick 10 points adrift at the foot of the Bank of Scotland Premier League.
Joint-manager Derek Whyte refused to give up hope fighting off relegation and was proud of his players’ efforts.
He said: “Without a doubt I was really pleased with the guys in there.
“I think they had just one chance in the second half and Kenny Arthur never had a save to make.
“We are disappointed we didn’t win the game but I am pleased with guys’ performance.
“We had a lapse in concentration and Lovenkrands scored. That’s the quality that they’ve got.
“He’s got injured and I hope he’s fine but I can’t fault the players’ commitment. We create more than they did.
“I am a great optimist and as long as there’s enough points still to go for we will go for it.”
