Robin Propper was forced out of Rangers’ Europa League tie with Fenerbahce through injury, but not because of an opponent, but a teammate.
The Dutch defender had to make his way off in the first leg of the last 16 tie when his own goalkeeper, Jack Butland, made the ill-advised decision to rush out of his goal.
Propper was battling Youssef En-Nesyri for a ball forward when Butland rushed out and headbutted his teammate in painful scenes.
After receiving treatment, Propper somehow left the pitch of his own accord, although he looked shaken up.
Reacting to the incident, Rangers legend Ally McCoist said: “Communicate! You don’t come half way… it looks a really painful one.
“The goalkeeper’s got to stay where he is and let Propper head it back to him and deal with it.”
The match was 1-0 to Rangers when the incident occurred in the 28th minute, with the hosts equalising straight after through Alexander Djiku.
Vaclav Cerny then restored the visitor’s lead for a 2-1 half-time lead.
Butland is a familiar name to English football fans as he made his name in the Premier League with Stoke from 2013 to 2018.
During that time he was a regular in England squads, earning nine caps along the way.
He hasn’t been called up since 2018, though, having failed to nail down a starting berth at successive clubs before arriving at Rangers.
The 31-year-old had a solid debut campaign in 2023/24, but this season has been a struggle.
Rangers are a massive 16 points off Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic, with Philippe Clement sacked as manager on February 24.
His replacement, Barry Ferguson, hasn’t done much better, but like his predecessor, his side have come alive in Europe.
