Rangers have been struck with a major double injury blow as both Ryan Kent and Kyle Lafferty will miss the Spartak Moscow match tomorrow.
Kent has been Rangers’ MVP this season with a string of terrific displays. Arriving on-loan from Liverpool, Kent has managed to nab three goals and two assists. More impressively, however, he’s made the left-wing slot his own this season.
Lafferty has been struggling with a muscle knock and didn’t even travel with the squad. Kent’s injury, on the other hand, is a worrying hamstring knock.
Kent won’t feature until after the international break, ruling him out of Sunday’s Premiership clash with Motherwell too.
How to counter it?
The loss of Kent in particular is the real blow. Alfredo Morelos would almost certainly have started over Lafferty regardless. That particular injury could give Dapo Mebude his big chance on the bench.
The like-for-like replacement would be young Glenn Middleton. The pacey winger has been sniffing around the first-team all season. He already has 14 appearances to his name, including a substitute role in Villarreal.
Outside of Middleton, Gerrard worryingly doesn’t have many other options. Jamie Murphy is sidelined for the rest of the season, and it shows just how bare the squad is if a couple of players pick up injuries.
The sensible option is to give Middleton his chance to shine on Thursday night. He’ll be champing at the bit as he continues to look for more minutes on the pitch. Tomorrow could give him a real opportunity to challenge Kent properly this season if he puts on a starring show.
Borna Barisic has also been revealed to have missed out by Steven Gerrard. That should mean that Andy Halliday keeps his place in the side for the clash with Moscow.
On the other side of the fence, Spartak are still sweating on the fitness of Ze Luis and Fernando. Luiz Adriano, however, is fit after playing and scoring in Spartak’s defeat to FC Ural
