Rangers defence against Hoffenheim didn’t look great, without John Souttar and Ben Davies, Michael Beale had to go with the only two centre-halves he had left.
With Connor Goldson nearing a return and Leon King still a month away, the Gers gaffer was left with no choice but to pair Leon Balogun and Johnly Yfeko.
Both first-half goals conceded were soft and preventable with the defensive pairing not covering themselves in glory, however, fears of another Rangers injury jinx were eased when John Souttar and Ben Davies had their absence explained, as reported by Heart and Hand.
Souttar has the sort of record that leads to fear in the support every time he isn’t seen in a training video or match day squad.
Davies, is a different matter.
Linked with a move away from the club, a couple of individual errors has seen him written off by many and as one who should be moved on.
The manager had hinted that those who didn’t travel to Germany weren’t part of his plans but, on this occasion, Davies’s absence was a simple explanatoin.
Rangers to avoid Hoffenheim repeat with the return of Souttar and Davies
Michael Beale explained that several members of the Rangers squad he wanted to take were unavailable due to a sickness bug that had been doing the rounds with fan media outlet Heart and Hand confirming both John Souttar and Ben Davies had been affected.
Not exactly ideal preparation for the final pre-season game.
The only good news is that they were only missing for a friendly and that Souttar and Davies will be back and expected to start together against Kilmarnock at the weekend.
Despite the good news, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Connor Goldson is named in the starting XI given what we have seen in the past from the 6ft 3inch colossus.
If the vice-captain is fit enough for the squad, he won’t want to sit on the bench, that’s for sure.
In a strange pre-season for Rangers John Souttar has arguably been one of the best performers and Ben Davies has been decent too, the minds that have already been made up will tell you otherwise though.
Getting off to a good start is vital in any season and with our first choice defenders at the back, a repeat of the first half against Hoffenheim should be avoided.
