Rangers manager, Steven Gerrard, has provided an update on the condition of James Tavernier ahead of the visit of Celtic on Sunday afternoon, as quoted by Rangers.co.uk.
The Gers skipper played through a knock for some time during the defeat to Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League on Thursday night but was eventually forced off with five minutes remaining.
His absence would prove to be costly, too, with his replacement, Matt Polster, failing to get tight enough to Leon Bailey in the 88th minute, allowing the Jamaican international to score a third for the visitors and effectively kill off the tie.
With just a three day turnaround to Sunday’s Old Firm, though, Gerrard is hopeful his captain may still be able to feature.
“We need everyone pulling through and fighting for this shirt at the moment,” he said, as quoted by Rangers.co.uk. “We have a few injuries and a few knocks that I don’t really like touching on or complaining about, but it is what it is.”
“In the next 24 hours, I am going to be looking people in the eyes and I need them to look right back at me and tell me whether they are with me at the weekend as we have a real, big game to look forward to.
“[It’s an] exciting game and a game we want to win and must win, so hopefully James can get that recovered and be available again. But I am really pleased that James showed leadership tonight as he played through the pain barrier for us.”
Verdict
Much like many of his teammates, Tavernier hasn’t been at his best since the winter break, but he certainly gave it his all in what was ultimately a losing cause on Thursday evening.
He has made some high profile errors in recent weeks, but as we could see when he was off the field for the closing stages last night, he’s still the best right-back at the club and having him fit to face Celtic is key.
The 28-year-old’s assist for George Edmundson’s goal against Leverkusen was his 15th of the season, showing how much he offers the team going forward.
With plenty of Old Firms under his belt, the manager would much prefer to call on him on Sunday rather than throwing in Polster or Nathan Patterson for their first taste of the derby.
