With Rangers losing Filip Helander for an extended period, Noel Whelan has tipped Steven Gerrard's side to add a Premier League defender in January.

The Swedish defender will be sidelined for the foreseeable future having gone under the knife after being stretchered off during the 2-1 win over St Johnstone.

Ibrox boss Gerrard confirmed Helander had gone for surgery within the last week.

And the Gers manager admitted it'll be a significant amount of time before the centre-back will be back involved.

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan was quizzed on whether the Ibrox outfit would need to add defensive cover and he responded: “Yeah, quite possibly.

“It depends on if and when he comes back. If he comes back fine by January then there is a case to say you don’t need anyone else.

“But what if someone else gets injured? Then you are right back in the same position.

“You are damned if you do and damned if you don’t. We know what the window is like in January, you pay over the odds and don’t sign players you actually want.

“If they do anything it will be a loan deal for a Premier League player, I would imagine.

“Someone who needs game time. They might just need that cover and backup.

“Signing a player in January becomes very expensive for any club. It’s an unfortunate situation for Gerrard, he needs to figure this one out.”