Scottish Premiership: Naderi strikes for Rangers win after fresh Shankland injury blow

Rangers striker Ryan Naderi accepted a gift to score the only goal against Motherwell at Ibrox, but they fear their captain Lawrence Shankland faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after a hamstring injury suffered early on in the game.

Naderi, who came on for Shankland in the eighth minute, dispossessed Alex Paulsen as the Motherwell goalkeeper attempted to dribble the ball past him outside his box and the German had the simple task of rolling the ball into the net to score what proved to be a 12th-minute winner.

Motherwell dominated possession and created several chances but Rangers were more effective in the final third and should have added to their lead. Kim Min-su missed a first-half penalty and the debutant striker Kevin Kelsy was among those to pass up good opportunities after he came off the bench.

Lawrence Shankland leaves the pitch unaided but his manager later revealed the club fear his hamstring injury is significant. Photograph: Steve Welsh/PARangers ultimately saw out the game without any late scares as they recorded a third consecutive Premiership victory.

Of Shankland, the Rangers manager, Derek McInnes, said he fears the injury is similarly significant to the one that kept him out for two months early in 2026. McInnes said: “He has a similar feeling to the hamstring injury he had at Hearts last January. We don’t want to speculate too much but he says it feels similar, in the same area, so we’ll get him scanned on Monday.

“He says he felt fine going into the game and there was nothing really that he did in the game that he was aware of, he just felt it pull up. It’s a shame for the boy because he was obviously in good form, getting himself moving and enjoying some of that attacking threat we’ve had over the last few games, and we’ve waited long and hard for that.”

Michael Forbes scored an added-time equaliser for Dundee United against Falkirk, who had led at Tannadice thanks to Jacob Murrell’s fourth-minute opener, while Kilmarnock picked up their first point but are still waiting for a first Premiership win of the season after a 0-0 draw at Aberdeen.

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