Youssef Chermiti Faces Long Injury Layoff After ACL Damage

Youssef Chermiti faces a long spell on the sidelines with anterior cruciate ligament damage, just days after Rangers rejected interest in the striker.

The 22-year-old Portuguese forward suffered the injury in Sunday’s 2-1 home defeat to Hibernian, crashing into the advertising boards after a heavy challenge. The impact stopped Ibrox in an instant. The club later confirmed on social media that Chermiti “will be out of action for a significant period of time”.

For a player whose Rangers career had been gathering real momentum, the timing is brutal.

Chermiti arrived from Everton in September 2025, reportedly becoming Rangers’ most expensive signing since Tore Andre Flo in 2000. The fee underlined how heavily the club were betting on his development and his goals. He had begun to justify that faith: 43 appearances, 30 of them starts, and 15 goals for the Ibrox side. A proper No 9, still raw, but with the kind of ceiling that attracts attention.

That attention had already arrived. Before kick-off against Hibs, Derek McInnes addressed reports that Turkish champions Galatasaray had made a move for his striker. Speaking to BBC Scotland, the Rangers manager was clear that any offer had fallen short.

“I’m led to believe the club’s valuation of the player hasn’t been met,” he said. “It’s no surprise that he’s a player who’s got a big (price) tag on him and he’s got high potential, but thankfully he’s our player and that will continue to be the case.

“We’re trying to build a team here at the minute and we’re trying to still bring additions to the team that helps us add to the good players that we’ve got, including Youssef. So it’s not something we would encourage at any point.”

Within hours, the narrative had changed. From transfer talk and price tags to scans and recovery schedules.

Capped at under-21 level by Portugal, Chermiti had been one of the central pillars of McInnes’ rebuild, a young focal point around whom Rangers could shape their attack for years rather than months. Now that plan has to be redrawn, at least in the short term.

Rangers have fought hard to keep him. Now they have to find a way to cope without him.