Alfredo Morelos: Is the striker Rangers' most important player?

A picture of Alfredo Morelos on crutches at Glasgow airport last week following international duty with Colombia was as welcome to Rangers fans as a friendly against Celtic in Sydney.

Some turned into detectives trying to discover the validity of the image, imploring the club to reveal there was no issue and he wasn’t on his way to see a specialist about a thigh issue.

The news supporters were dreading arrived on Friday, two days before the crucial 2-1 loss to rivals Celtic at Ibrox. Giovanni van Bronckhorst confirmed the Colombian would be out for the next couple of weeks, while there is concern it could be a longer-term injury.

The injury couldn’t have happened to a more important player at a worse time. Not only was his absence felt on Sunday, Rangers will play the Europa league quarter-final against Braga without their talisman, as well as the Scottish Cup semi-final against Celtic, a game which takes on more significance with no Scottish Cup win in 12 years.

A natural reaction after the defeat to Celtic was to assume they missed Morelos’ presence as the focal point of attack. But just how important is the 25-year-old?

When you look at games he has missed, whether it be through injury, suspension, international duty or remaining on the bench across his five seasons at the club, Rangers have shown their capability at handling his absence.

Out of the 33 league and European games he has missed, Rangers have won 21 and only lost four. One of those victories arrived in Braga.

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Yet, two of the four losses have arrived this campaign, both in defeats to Celtic in the league. He may have put in plenty of effort across those two games but