Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has confirmed that Borna Barisic is a big doubt for today’s clash against St Johnstone.
Barisic was one of the stars of the show against Villarreal on Thursday night. The Croatian international provided a terrific cross for Kyle Lafferty’s stunning equaliser in Spain. That goal was enough to mark Rangers’ return to Europe with a point in their toughest group match on paper.
Attentions, however, now swiftly turn to today’s match at home to St Johnstone. Rangers have won two of their opening five Premiership games this season. A win against the Saints would see the Gers narrow the gap on Hearts to five points at the top of the table.
Yet Gerrard has said Rangers may have to do it without key-man Barisic. Speaking in the Sun, the Rangers manager provided supporters with an injury update.
“Ejaria has a good chance of being involved, but Borna might struggle. He’s been sent for a scan on his hamstring and is a big doubt.”
The hamstring concern
The word that’s likely to stick out in fans’ minds there is hamstring. If there’s even a small possibility of Barisic doing his hamstring damage then Gerrard has to avoid it.
It remains to be seen how long the Croatian star is out for. Supporters, however, will be praying it’s precautionary.
The Rangers manager may even make the surprising decision to still throw him in against Saints. He’s a massive part of Rangers’ threat down the left, and supporters so far have loved every minute of his performances.
If Gerrard does decide to take no chances then Jon Flanagan would be expected to slot back in. The former Liverpool youngster hasn’t seen much first-team game-time under Gerrard so far, with Barisic and James Tavernier keeping him out of the side.
The squad depth these days also means that Gerrard could throw in Andy Halliday as an alternative left-back. This would be a massive blow to Flanagan however, who hasn’t done too much wrong at Ibrox himself.
It’ll be interesting to see how Rangers line-up against Saints with this potential concern. Fans, however, will be pleased to hear that Ovie Ejaria could return.
A niggling injury has seen the Liverpool loan star miss out the last two matches. He hasn’t been seen since the 1-0 loss to Celtic at Parkhead earlier this month, but his return is a big boost for Gerrard’s side.
