Rangers boss Steven Gerrard has revealed he has spoken privately with Scotland manager Steve Clarke after injured midfielder Ryan Jack earned a call-up for the nation.
Jack, 29, has suffered routinely with injury this season and Steven Gerrard has spoken previously about the need to effectively manage the midfielder’s situation.
Scotland duty has previous complications for Jacko who was at the centre of a club v country disagreement over his regime whilst away with the national side.
Back in September 2019, Steven Gerrard was left fuming at Steve Clarke for making Jack do a double session off the back of an intense Old Firm match which left him with a knee injury [Times].
Clarke bit back at Gerrard, claiming the matter should’ve been “dealt with privately” [Daily Record] but since then the relationship has somewhat improved.
However, Rangers fans are especially cautious of the situation involving popular midfielder Jack on Scotland duty, something heightened by his absence from the match against Slavia Prague.
Only a day after Jack was recalled to the Scotland set-up by Clarke, Gerrard announced to the media that the influential midfielder would miss the Europa League Last 16 clash and also that Jack was a doubt for the weekend’s trip to Celtic Park.
But moving quickly to explain that he’d discussed the ex-Aberdeen star’s situation with Clarke, Gerrard confirmed he’d had private conversations with the Scotland manager regarding a number of Ibrox stars.
“I’ve had a chat with Steve Clarke, obviously that will remain private,” said Gerrard [Rangers].
“We’ve been in touch over Ryan and a few other players for some time now.
“But I’m not going to divulge what got said on the conversation, I don’t think that’s fair or respectful.
“Ryan won’t be involved tomorrow night, that’s all you guys need to know right now, and we’ll make a decision on the weekend when we need to but he’ll be ruled out for tomorrow’s game.”
The key thing here is that Gerrard and Clarke are on the same page regarding Jack’s recovery to ensure not only that Rangers and Scotland get the best of what is a very talented player, but also that Jack’s career isn’t hindered any by bad injury management.
Jack isn’t the only Rangers player who’s made the Scotland international squad either with one other Ibrox star making the cut despite not being seen this year.
