Rangers fans have applauded manager Steven Gerrard for shutting down reports which claimed Gers skipper James Tavernier was an injury doubt for the Royal Antwerp clash as “fake news”.
The Ibrox manager was speaking as he revealed the identities of the Ibrox Covid Five who breached regulations at a house party over the weekend.
A visibly disappointed Gerrard claims he feels let down by the quintet with the Gers boss also confirming the five players have been forced into self-isolation as a result.
With the players fined and the club working closely with the authorities to achieve an outcome over the situation, Rangers boss Gerrard was eager to reiterate this was now an internal matter.
Attention would then quickly turn to this week’s clash with Belgian outfit Royal Antwerp and the Ibrox gaffer wasted no time in batting away claims that James Tavernier was injured.
The Ibrox skipper had reportedly picked up a knock in training according to reports originating from the print edition of the Scottish Daily Mail [17/02/21 p.88] this morning.
“Well obviously the boys mentioned [Bassey, Patterson and Zungu] won’t be involved,” said Gerrard [RangersTV].
“We have got some real, good news in-terms of having Alfredo and Kemar back available which will bring a lot of firepower to the squad and the group, and I am really looking forward to having them back for this fixture.
“We have seen recent rumours that James is carrying a niggle which is fake news – there is nothing in that.”
Here’s how the Ibrox club’s fans reacted to Gerrard’s comments as they lauded the Rangers boss for quickly clamping the “fake news”:
https://twitter.com/HayRfc/status/1362016909869404160
The situation involving the five players who breached the rules – Bongani Zungu, Nathan Patterson, Calvin Bassey, Brian Kinnear and Dapo Mebude – has frustrated Rangers fans.
But it’s first-teamer and South African international Bongani Zungu who has bore the brunt of the criticism as the senior player with many believing he has played his final game for the club.
