David Edgar of Heart & Hand has asserted that Borna Barisic was dropped from the Rangers squad for Sunday’s fixture at Ross County rather than missing out through injury.
Barisic has been the first-choice left-back at Ibrox since the early stages of the 2019/20 season when he finally settled following a £2m transfer from Osijek in the summer of 2018.
He’s been an outstanding performer for the club both in domestic and European competition, offering defensive consistency and high-quality deliveries from wide channels.
However, after a difficult summer during which he barely featured for Croatia at Euro 2020 due to injury, he’s struggled to recapture his form.
The 28-year-old missed most of pre-season and has looked off the pace whenever he’s played.
Calvin Bassey was given an opportunity against Dunfermline in the Premier Sports Cup last weekend and grabbed it, earning him further starts against Alashkert on Thursday and the Staggies on Sunday.
For the latter game, though, Barisic wasn’t even named amongst the substitutes, leading some supporters to think that he may have picked up another injury.
However, that theory was rejected by Edgar of official club media partners Heart & Hand.
Responding to a fan query on Twitter, he made it clear that Barisic had been available for selection but simply hadn’t made the matchday squad.
Rangers star Barisic dropped for Ross County clash
It would have been unthinkable to have left Barisic out of an important Premiership away trip last season, given how key he has been to the team’s playing style.
Therefore, this call gives an indication of how impressed Steven Gerrard has been with Calvin Bassey in the opening weeks of the season and how off the pace the Croatia international has been.
The manager may still have been reluctant to leave Barisic in Glasgow, but the authorities’ decision to reduce squad sizes from 20 to 18 this season means that big names will inevitably miss out on squads from time to time.
It’s now up to Barisic to put the work in in training to prove that he is still the best left-back at the club.
After the 4-2 win in Dingwall, Steven Gerrard provided an injury update on Glen Kamara, who was subbed off in the second half following treatment.
