Rangers injury list has improved this season under Philippe Clement, however, he will be frustrated at those who are prone to missing games still causing him grief.
Other than serial offenders Rabbi Matondo and Tom Lawrence, the treatment room is looking in good shape ahead of a key Europa League league phase fixture with Olympiacos – Oscar Cortes get a pass due to the severity of the surgery that his injury in January needed.
Cortes had never been injured until a nightmare 2024 and will be hoping to end this year on a high as the manager explains who is, and who isn’t, available for Rangers to face the Greeks.
Philippe Clement gives Rangers injury update
Frustratingly, for the Gers boss, he doesn’t have Danilo or Ianis Hagi at his disposal due to restrictions with the Europa League squad. If the next round is reached, it would be a surprise to see their names missing again though.
Clement explained that Leon Balogun only went off early against Motherwell due to cramp which leaves the following players who had been doubtful due to injury:
- Ridvan Yilmaz – has trained and travelled with the squad to Greece.
- Rabbi Matondo – back in training.
- Oscar Cortes – working with physios on football specific rehabilitation, not in group training.
- Tom Lawrence – initial treatment of quadriceps injury only, out for several weeks.
Specifically on Lawrence, Clement said:
“Tom Lawrence hasn’t travelled, he got injured at the weekend and will be out for several weeks.
“He has been important for the team but it gives opportunities for other players to prove themselves.”
Clement backed by Nedim Bajrami as No.10 role becomes vacant
Meanwhile, Clement has been backed by one of Rangers star men of recent weeks with Nedim Bajrami revealing that everyone is behind the under-pressure gaffer:
“We showed a reaction and as I said before, we are all behind [the manager], we believe in him and we showed today a good second half,” he added.
“We have pressure every game because we are Rangers. We could score more but it was important to win.”
With Lawrence injured, Bajrami might get the chance to move inside to his preferred position, once more bodies are available.
Wins are all that matter to help gain momentum, however, as the second half against Motherwell shows, a good performance would go a long way in helping to sway fan opinion into putting their backing behind Clement too.
