Garner could return in three weeks, says Warburton
MARK WARBURTON, the Rangers manager, hopes striker Joe Garner will return to action within three weeks as he continues his recovery from a dislocated shoulder.
Garner was injured in the early stages of the Old Firm derby with Celtic on Hogmanay and had to be stretchered off after a collision with Erik Sviatchenko. Rangers went on to lose the Ibrox fixture 2-1 as they fell 19 points adrift of Brendan Rodgers’ side in the Ladbrokes Premiership.
Warburton will be without Garner for the Scottish Cup fourth-round tie against Motherwell this weekend, but the £1.8m signing from Preston North End will be available for selection sooner rather than later.
“The scan revealed the damage to be not too serious but obviously he has dislocated his shoulder, so there is a period of rehabilitation,” Warburton said. “Joe will hopefully be back training within a week or so and then back with us within two or three weeks. There is no surgery required right now. There is always a risk involved in it but the specialist and our medical team are happy with that risk.”
While Garner will miss out against Motherwell on Saturday, Warburton will be able to call on the services of defender Lee Wallace following a hamstring injury. The Ibrox captain missed the Old Firm game last month and didn’t feature in the friendly defeat to RB Leipzig on Sunday.
A groin strain ruled striker Joe Dodoo out of the bounce game at the Red Bull Arena and Warburton will monitor his fitness ahead of the cup clash.
“Lee is fit, he will be back training today [Tuesday], he trained with the rest of the squad on Saturday and will be available for selection, touch wood, for the weekend, so he will train with us all week,” he said. “He had a hamstring problem, he recovered well, he has worked hard with the medical team and has been first class but it is just a natural recovery period. He has gone through that now and we’re looking forward to welcoming him back.
“Joe Dodoo tweaked a groin in training in the warm-up which is frustrating for him and for us of course because he would have had a good part to play at the weekend. It is precautionary again, we need to make sure he is OK and he [was in on Tuesday] morning getting treatment and we’ll see how he fares this week.”