Glasgow Rangers defender John Souttar has been let down by the club's medical staff, Frank McAvennie has told Football Insider.
The lowdown
Ibrox manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst recently confirmed that the 26-year-old, who arrived in the summer on a free transfer from Hearts, would be missing until after the World Cup.
The Gers boss said that Souttar 'brought the problem with him' from Tynecastle and then had to be substituted in the second half of his debut against Livingston in July (via Sky Sports).
Having now undergone surgery, the Scotland defender won't be back in action until the end of December at the earliest.
The latest
Former Scotland marksman McAvennie feels that the Rangers medical staff should have identified the enduring issue affecting Souttar and treated it earlier. He also expressed his sympathy for the 26-year-old, who is left waiting for his Ibrox career to truly get underway.
McAvennie told Football Insider: “I don’t think the fans will be too annoyed because you can’t compensate for an injury.
“It’s the injury that he had when he signed and that is bad management. The medical team, if there was a problem, should have spotted it.
“It is horrible. I feel sorry for him because he got his big move to the club that he wants to go to and he got injured and can’t play for another six or seven months. But if it is something that has been there the Rangers medical staff should have noticed it.
“I feel for him more than anything. I think the fans will be disappointed that he is not playing but they will understand. I was out injured for a year and it was horrible, you feel like you are not part of anything. Especially for Souttar, it is a new club so he will think he is on his own.”
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The verdict
In Rangers' defence, Souttar was actually back playing before the end of last season. He played against Van Bronckhorst's side on the final day of the Premiership campaign and also in the Scottish Cup final.
The defender was on the pitch for all 120 minutes at Hampden Park, so the Light Blues might have assumed that he had overcome the issue.
On the flip side, though, it may have sensible to take extra precautions, with both parties now losing out as a result.
The Gers are without another centre-back in the form of Filip Helander, so Van Bronckhorst's squad looks a little thin in that particular area, and you'd hope that lessons have been learned from Souttar's misfortune.