Steven Gerrard has suggested that Rangers midfielder Bongani Zungu could miss further matches on top of Thursday night’s Europa League clash against Benfica, due to a knee injury [RangersTV].
Zungu has had a frustrating start to life at Ibrox following his loan move from Amiens in early October.
After observing a two-week quarantine period following his arrival in the UK, the 28-year-old required several weeks worth of training to regain match fitness.
He finally made his debut in the 8-0 hammering of Hamilton earlier this month and impressed with his positivity on the ball.
However, he headed off to South Africa on international duty soon after and picked up an injury against São Tome e Príncipe.
Initially, Gerrard suggested that the problem was so minor that Zungu may only have to sit out of the Premiership clash against Aberdeen [BT Sport].
However, it seems that the injury hasn’t cleared up as quickly as hoped, with the Benfica fixture just one of several upcoming fixtures he could now miss.
“Zungu will be missing as well,” said Gerrard after declaring Ryan Jack as a doubt [RangersTV]. “We’re hoping to have him back in a week to 10 days time.”
“He’s not got a big issue but, unfortunately, he’s not available for us tomorrow.”
Fans will be relieved that the midfielder isn’t facing a long spell on the sidelines, but it’s a blow that he’s set for at least another week out, especially during such a busy period.
Gerrard’s comments effectively rule his player out of contention for Sunday’s trip to Falkirk in the League Cup, while it also now looks unlikely that he’ll feature in next week’s Europa League game against Standard Liege at Ibrox.
Based on this latest update, the Premiership match against Ross County in Dingwall on 6th December may be Zungu’s new target.
