Youssef Chermiti Faces Long Recovery After Serious Injury

Youssef Chermiti faces a long road back after suffering serious anterior cruciate ligament damage – just days after Rangers rejected interest in the striker.

The 22-year-old Portuguese forward was injured in Sunday's 2-1 home defeat to Hibernian, crashing into the advertising boards after a heavy challenge that immediately silenced Ibrox. What first looked like an awkward collision has now been confirmed as something far more severe.

Rangers announced on social media that Chermiti "will be out of action for a significant period of time", a blunt line that underlines the scale of the setback for both player and club.

The timing could hardly be more cruel. Before kick-off, manager Derek McInnes had been addressing reports that Turkish champions Galatasaray had made a move for the striker. Speaking to BBC Scotland, he made it clear Rangers were in no mood to sell.

"I'm led to believe the club's valuation of the player hasn't been met," McInnes said, stressing the value and potential of a forward the club see as central to their plans. "It's no surprise that he's a player who's got a big (price) tag on him and he's got high potential, but thankfully he's our player and that will continue to be the case.

"We're trying to build a team here at the minute and we're trying to still bring additions to the team that helps us add to the good players that we've got, including Youssef. So it's not something we would encourage at any point."

Those words now land differently. The player McInnes described as central to the project will not be available for months.

Chermiti arrived at Ibrox from Everton in September 2025, in a deal that reportedly made him Rangers' most expensive signing since Tore Andre Flo in 2000. With that price tag came expectation, but also a sense that the club were investing in a long-term focal point for their attack.

He had begun to justify that faith. Capped at under-21 level by Portugal, the centre forward has made 43 appearances for Rangers, starting 30 of those games and scoring 15 goals. Not yet the finished article, but clearly trending upwards, he had become a key figure in McInnes’ evolving front line.

Now everything pauses. The transfer talk stops. The momentum halts. The conversation turns instead to rehabilitation schedules, medical updates and how Rangers reshape their attack without a striker they had no intention of losing.