Philippe Clement doesn’t have his injury problems to seek as Rangers prepare to face Dundee United in the Scottish Premiership.
The Rangers manager will take on the Arabs without several key first-team players in a mounting casualty list made worse by the Europa League trip to Manchester.
John Souttar, Leon Balogun, Dujon Sterling, Connor Barron, Oscar Cortes, Vaclav Cerny and Danilo are all missing from the matchday squad in the City of Discovery.
But Philippe Clement insists that it’s injury, and not transfer speculation, that is also keeping Ridvan Yilmaz out of the Rangers team ahead of the clash with Dundee United.
Ridvan Yilmaz transfer latest
Ridvan Yilmaz sparked rumours of an imminent Rangers exit after uploading an Instagram post in Istanbul.
The Turkish international left-back, 23, turned heads amongst Rangers fans after it appeared he was in a coffee shop in the west of the famous city.
Combine this with reports Besiktas could sign a £5m loan-to-buy deal for Yilmaz and suddenly it had Rangers fans wondering if the defender would be leaving Ibrox.
When Yilmaz was nowhere to be seen come the announcement of the starting XI v Dundee United, it only heightened suspicions.
Philippe Clement on Ridvan Yilmaz injury
Philippe Clement has moved to dismiss rumours that Ridvan Yilmaz is set to leave Rangers and claims the player’s absence v Dundee United is down to injury.
Yilmaz – who joined Rangers from Besiktas in a £5m deal in 2022 – has seen his entire Ibrox career badly interrupted due to persistent injury problems.
“Yeah, Ridvan has a small injury,” Clement told RangersTV. “It’s not long-term.
“He was not fit enough to play in this game.
“I heard all of the rumours around him that he is going to leave, but I can say to all of the fans that it’s totally not true.”
The Rangers manager also appeared to dispel suggestions that Yilmaz left the country by saying the player has been in Auchenhowie receiving treatment.
“It’s just a small injury,” said Clement. “And he’s spent the last couple of days in the building to get treatment.
