Two named Rangers Europa League squad members look set to miss out on a place in the matchday 18 for the second leg of the Braga tie after featuring in a friendly fixture on Tuesday afternoon.
Matt Polster and Brandon Barker were both included in Steven Gerrard’s extended squad for the knockout stages of the competition [UEFA.com] ahead of the likes of Jordan Jones, Jon Flanagan and Jake Hastie.
However, both players played the full 90 minutes of a behind closed doors fixture against Partick Thistle on Tuesday afternoon at the Rangers Training Centre.
Given that the Braga clash is kicking off a little over 24 hours after that game finished, their extended participation suggests they are both surplus to requirements.
Polster enjoyed a stint in the first team covering for the injured James Tavernier at right-back in late January and early February.
However, after the return of the skipper, he’s dropped down the pecking order once again and hasn’t made any of the last three Premiership matchday squads.
Barker’s 2020 has barely got going.
He made 10 appearances over the first half of the season, but his only since the winter break came as a substitute against Stranraer in the Scottish Cup in January.
He signed a three-year deal with the club in August and did make two starts against Porto in the Europa League group stages, but he’s fallen out of favour since then.
