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Trusted Clement lieutenant suffers serious injury just days after major UEFA blow
Leon Balogun will not be letting the small matter of a broken bone in his face stop him from playing for his beloved Rangers after succumbing to injury v Livingston.
That’s the view of Ibrox manager Philippe Clement, who has heaped praise on the 35-year-old “warrior” despite him being subbed off in the first half of the eventual 3-0 victory.
Leon Balogun had gone off for John Souttar just 22 minutes into the Scottish Premiership match, having clashed with Livingston defender Shaun Donnellan.
It means that Rangers could be down to only two senior centre-back options with Ben Davies also currently sidelined for an as of yet undetermined period of time.
Philippe Clement on Leon Balogun injury
However, whilst Philippe Clement claims that Leon Balogun had “probably broke something in his face” the Rangers manager believes it won’t hold him down for long.
Speaking after the clash with Livingston, Clement confirmed the defender is now very likely to come back donning a protective mask as soon as the medical team give him a thumbs up.
“Yeah, (the injury is) not good and good in a way,” said Clement. “Let’s say it’s not good because it’s a bad injury, he’s probably broke something in his face.
“The positive side is that he’s a warrior and he’s somebody with experience who had already things like that in the past and he believes he can be fast back with a mask. So I hope that’s the case but it’s the medical staff who needs to decide that.”
Leon Balogun has by-and-large been Philippe Clement’s number one choice to partner Connor Goldson at the back for Rangers.
The defender has made 14 appearances this season, 11 of which have come as starts under the Belgian boss.
Rangers “warrior” misses out on Euro squad
The Leon Balogun injury – and Philippe Clement’s comments – come after the Nigerian international was left out of the club’s Europa League squad.
Rangers could only make three changes to the squad for the second half of the season with Fabio Silva, Mohamed Diomande, and Ridvan Yilmaz getting the nod.
It means that Leon Balogun and Oscar Cortes have missed out but it’s clear that Philippe Clement sees the centre-back playing a big role for Rangers this season.
Leon – who was re-signed in the summer after controversially leaving the club at the end of the 21/22 season – has made no bones about his love of the Glasgow club.
Those “warrior” comments and the player’s eagerness to return from a facial injury sums this up perfectly and Rangers have a key player in the defender.
In a week of double disappointment for the centre-back, we don’t think it’s going to hold Balogun back for long with fans eagerly awaiting his return to the side.
