RANGERS last night blamed Kilmarnock's plastic pitch for the injury picked up by top goalscorer Martyn Waghorn during Tuesday night's Scottish Cup tie which could see the player missing for up to two months.
The 28-goal Englishman, one of his team's best and most consistent performers this season, injured his knee in the process of winning a penalty at Rugby Park, which he scored, but was soon substituted and left the ground on crutches.
Mark Warburton, the Rangers manager, has been a vocal critic of artificial surfaces and the loss of the important Waghorn will only reinforce his belief that such pitches have no place in the modern game.
Warburton's comments echoed those of players’ union boss Fraser Wishart, who last week called for a halt to any more plastic pitches being installed because of the damage they do to players. Even Kilmarnock coach Lee McCulloch admitted his own squad had been affected by injuries caused by the surface.
With regards to Waghorn, Rangers said on their website: "The knee injury sustained in Tuesday night’s Scottish Cup win over Kilmarnock is not as bad as was first feared.
"Martyn suffered the injury in the challenge that saw Rangers win their early penalty and although he recovered enough to score from the spot, he could not continue.
"The initial impact on an unforgiving Rugby Park surface resulted in bruising and lacerations which were immediately visible. However, thankfully the scan has revealed there will be no need for surgery, although Martyn will be sidelined for a number of weeks.
"His rehabilitation will be expertly managed by the medical team and we look forward to welcoming him back sooner rather than later."
Waghorn will now miss the crucial match against Hibernian at Easter Road at the start of next month, many more Championship games, as well as the home Scottish Cup quarter-final against either Dundee or Dumbarton and the Petrofac Training Cup final with Peterhead.
Rangers travel to Queen of the South on Friday where they will play on their third artificial surface in eight days.
Warburton expressed his unhappiness about Alloa's surface before last Saturday's 1-1 draw.
"It’s a dangerous route to have more and more artificial pitches and it comes back to the quality of the product," he said. "You’ve got to get investment into the Scottish market, but are you going to bring it and the TV companies if you’re playing at certain places on certain surfaces? I’m not so sure."
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