Rangers star Borna Barisic is not expected to be missing for the European Championships this summer as a scan shows a minor muscle injury following the 4-1 win over Celtic.
Gers midfielder Joe Aribo was forced to deputise at left-back as Borna Barisic went down injured in the thumping Ibrox victory and looked visibly uncomfortable as he made his way from the pitch.
That led to fears about Barisic’s long-term availability ahead of the summer’s European Championships, the Croatian international first choice left-back for his country.
And it was the international association of the Balkans nation who put to bed any conjecture surrounding his availability this summer as they opened up on the results of a scan.
“From our side we can say that after his MRI scan, it did not show any serious muscle injury, so we definitely expect him back for the Euros,” said an FA spokesperson, as quoted by the Daily Record.
However it is not clear if the flying wing-back – who has played 50 times for Rangers this season, scoring five goals and laying on a further 14 – will return this season.
The Gers have two games remaining of the Scottish Premiership campaign with a trip to Livingston (12/05) and a visit of Aberdeen (15/05) to come in this bumper season.
Should the Gers avoid defeat in both matches they’ll have gone the entire league campaign undefeated and Gerrard has backed his “honest” squad to step up in Borna’s absence.
“He’s got a tight quad at the moment,” said Gerrard [Sky Sports].
“His assist for the goal was fantastic – he was up and down all day long so hopefully it’s just a bit of fatigue.
“But we’ll check it out with an MRI scan and fingers crossed it’s not a big issue.
“What I will say is that Joe Aribo showed no ego by slotting in there and does a fantastic job for the team.
“We’re down to the bare bones in certain situations and certain positions but we’ve got honest lads who’ll fill in and do the job for the team.”
In other news, Rangers have also announced the pre-contract signing of a new forward with fans already adopting a pop classic in the name of the striker.
