Glasgow Rangers moved closer to the top of the Scottish Premiership table with a 2-0 victory over St. Johnstone at Ibrox on Wednesday night.
The Light Blues are now two points behind their bitter rivals in the top-flight and can move ahead of them if Philippe Clement's side pick up all three points in their game in hand.
Since arriving in Scotland to replace Michael Beale at the helm, the Belgian tactician has hit the ground running with 12 wins and three draws from his opening 15 matches.
Clement won his first trophy in charge of the Gers with a 1-0 win, thanks to a goal from James Tavernier, over Aberdeen in the League Cup final last weekend, and he will be hoping that there are plenty more to come.
The former AS Monaco boss has already had to contend with a number of injury blows, including a knee injury to Danilo that has ruled him out for four months, and now has another one as John Lundstram looks set for a spell on the sidelines.
Rangers injury news – John Lundstram
Saints forward Diallang Jaiyesimi received a red card for a dreadful challenge on the central midfielder, although VAR was needed to make the decision.
That tackle on the former Sheffield United maestro forced Clement to substitute him at half-time with an ankle injury and it now remains to be seen when he will next be back in action.
The Gers head coach has revealed that he hopes Lundstram will be back and available for selection before the winter break but that appeared to be more so in hope than expectation, as the Belgian chief stated that the injury does not look good.
It was described as the English whiz being "kicked" off the pitch and Clement said he was frustrated with the treatment of his players – citing another strong challenge on Kieran Dowell later in the match.
That is not to say that the ex-Club Brugge boss does not want opposition players to tackle or slide in on his Rangers stars but some challenges have crossed the line – as evidenced by Jaiyesimi's red card on Wednesday.
Given the gap in quality, it makes sense for other teams to make the game more of a fight to give themselves a chance but there is a way of going about it and making out of control tackles that risk causing an injury, as has been the case for Lundstram, appears to be the source of Clement's ire.
The manager's current priority, though, should be how he plans to replace the 2021 signing. With this in mind, natural right-back Dujon Sterling should be unleashed from the start in his new role in the middle of the park to ease the blow of losing the midfielder to injury.
Dujon Sterling's performance against St. Johnstone in numbers
The 24-year-old talent came off the bench at half-time to replace Lundstram and caught the eye with an impressive second-half display.
Sterling showcased his defensive qualities, as you would expect from a natural full-back, with one tackle and one interception to go along with a ground duel success rate of 67% (2/3) in 45 minutes on the pitch.
He was then able to get on the ball to make things happen when Rangers had possession. The English dynamo completed an excellent 92% (24/26) of his attempted passes, which shows that he was a reliable option for the side on the ball.
It can sometimes be the case that a player record a high pass success rate due to their lack of progression and risk in their pass selection but this was the not true of Sterling as he created two chances for his teammates, which was two more than Lundstram (zero) and Sam Lammers (zero) managed.
The former Chelsea prospect, whose recent displays were hailed as "exceptional" by Hearts ace Andy Halliday, also played in midfield against Dundee earlier this month, after Jose Cifuentes' red card, and produced one tackle, one interception, and one key pass in 45 minutes, as well as in the League Cup final.
Clement has hailed Sterling's versatility – even joking about a stint in goal – and claimed that the impressive gem is going to be an 'important' player for him moving forward, wherever that ends up being on the pitch.
For now, that position should be as a central midfielder after the £22k-per-week battler's superb performance against St. Johnstone on Wednesday.
He has the defensive and offensive attributes to be a fantastic operator in that role, which is why unleashing him would ease the blow of losing Lundstram to injury.
Lundstram's season in numbers
The experienced Gers midfielder has enjoyed a solid start to the 2023/24 campaign and has offered quality in and out of possession for Clement.
Lundstram has caught the eye, in particular, with his defensive work for the Scottish giants. He has made 2.5 tackles and interceptions to go along with 6.8 ball recoveries per match across 16 outings.
These statistics show that the Rangers ace is able to win the ball back for his team multiple times per game to cut out opposition attacks and create more opportunities for his side to make things happen at the top end of the pitch.
He is, however, not an outstanding talent in possession. Lundstram has averaged 1.1 key passes per game – joint-seventh within the squad – and is yet to contribute with a single goal or assist.
This shows that the former Sheffield United star, who has completed 89% of his attempted passes, is not a consistent creative threat from midfield who is able to split open opposition defences on a regular basis.
That is why Sterling's two key passes in one half on Wednesday night were eye-catching as he managed to create more chances in 45 minutes than Lundstram has averaged each match so far this season.
Therefore, Clement could ease the blow of losing the 29-year-old metronome by unleashing the summer signing in his new role in midfield as his athleticism, strength, and quality in possession could make him a big player for the Gers in that position moving forward.
