'We will see' - Abdallah Sima in Rangers injury sweat as Philippe Clement issue update on luckless Brighton loanee

Philippe Clement is hopeful that Abdallah Sima’s season hasn’t been brought to a premature end after the Rangers forward was forced off with a recurring hamstring problem against Hearts.

The Senegalese international lasted only 15 minutes of the Scottish Cup semi-final encounter with the Jambos before being replaced by Ross McCausland. Sima cut a disconsolate figure as he trudged off the pitch to a warm round of applause before being consoled on the touchline by Clement.

And the Gers manager is keeping his fingers crossed that the injury doesn’t rule the on-loan Brighton star out for the remainder of the campaign, with the Govan outfit hunting a domestic treble.

Clement stated: “We’re going to see and make an assessment tomorrow. He felt some tightness in his hamstring. I hope it’s not so bad. We hope we can have Abdallah in the next couple of weeks because he’s been really important in that period where he was fit and he was coming back now. So we will see. Rabbi (Matondo) was tactical at that moment, I thought it was necessary to make the change.”

Co-commentator Ally McCoist expressed his disappointment at seeing an animated Sima limp off, stating live on Premier Sports: “He started very brightly. It’s also worth mentioning that the substitution has been enforced on Rangers.” Supporters took to social media to voice their concern after Sima unleashed his frustration by kicking out as he made his way into the dugout. It is not the first time this season the 22-year-old has faced similar injury woes, having recently made his comeback from a long-term hamstring issue sustained on AFCON duty that had kept him on the sidelines since January.

One fan wrote: “We’ve had Sima back for what, 3/4 games? And he’s injured again. Our luck with injuries is astonishingly bad”, while a second commented: “You’ll simply not see another club with the same injury curse as us. 15 mins in and Sima aff injured. Unreal.”