Rangers manager Philippe Clement has urged his side to get their ‘money’ against Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership on Wednesday evening.
It comes after his team ‘paid cash’ in a Scottish Premiership stumble away to Kilmarnock last weekend.
But as Rangers fans breathe a sigh of relief following a tense 2-1 victory over St Mirren at Ibrox, Philippe Clement hinted that two key players are now injury doubts ahead of that trip to Pittodrie.
Medical staff ‘really clear’ Rangers star couldn’t play
Rangers made three high-profile changes heading into the clash with St Mirren at Ibrox.
Gers captain James Tavernier dropped out of the starting XI, with influential starters John Souttar and Cyriel Dessers joining him.
Whilst Tav and Cyriel would eventually wind up on the pitch, John Souttar wasn’t even included on the bench in the game at Ibrox.
It led to fears surrounding an injury issue for the 28-year-old who has been a crucial performer for club and country so far this season.
Speaking about John Souttar’s situation after the match, Philippe Clement was clear that the centre-back wasn’t risked amid fears over a serious injury, presumably due to overplaying.
“He couldn’t (play) today,” said Clement when asked about John Souttar’s situation.
“So medical staff and performance staff were really clear about that, that if we put him on the pitch it was a big risk for an injury. So that’s why I didn’t do it.
“(We) will see (if Souttar will be available against Aberdeen) in the next few days.”
Rangers playmaker a big doubt for Aberdeen clash
John Souttar isn’t the only fresh injury worry impacting Rangers at the moment either.
Influential Welsh international Tom Lawrence scored the opening goal against FCSB but came off at halftime after going down injured in the Europa League victory over the Romanians.
With Clement confirming Lawrence took a ‘bad knock’ to his right calf after the game, the absence of the midfielder from the match day squad against St Mirren would’ve turned some heads.
The Rangers manager was asked about the situation with Tom Lawrence after the win over St Mirren and claimed it is unclear if the 30-year-old will be fit to face Aberdeen.
Asked if Lawrence would be fit for Pittodrie, Clement said: “I don’t know, to be honest.”
Rangers have been plagued with injury issues in recent seasons and many of those long-standing problems have carried into this campaign.
Turkish international Ridvan Yilmaz and Brazilian striker Danilo are back in training but are still some way off having a tangible impact on the first-team.
There also remains no public timeline on the return of either Colombian winger Oscar Cortes or Welsh international forward Rabbi Matondo.
