Philippe Clement is facing a defensive injury crisis ahead of Saturday’s Scottish Cup final against Celtic.
Already missing the influential figure of Connor Goldson, the Rangers manager will also have to field a team without John Souttar — while Ridvan Yilmaz is a major doubt, too.
Although Leon Balogun does have a chance of featuring, Borna Barisic is running out of time to prove he’s ready.
The Croat didn’t feature against Hearts last week, with Tom Lawrence and Kemar Roofe not playing at Tynecastle either.
Clement had previously said he would wait until the day of the game before deciding on his team but will now formulate his plan after training today.
‘I need to see training, that is the final moment to show you’re fit enough to play,’ he said. ‘Otherwise, if you didn’t train all week, it’s impossible to play in the game.
Clement is facing a defensive crisis heading into Scottish Cup final with Celtic
Scotland defender John Souttar has been ruled out of the Hampden game for Rangers
Turkish full back Ridvan Yilmaz has also emerged as a major doubt
‘There’s a clarity on some things, but on some things not. John, for sure, will not be available. Leon, there is a possibility.
‘Some players will train for the first time tomorrow. So, there’s no clarity on that for me right now.’
Yilmaz only recently returned to the side after sustaining a hamstring injury but now looks set to miss the final after a setback.
If Barisic isn’t ready to return at left-back, that would leave a choice between Dujon Sterling and Robbie Fraser.
Clement said of Yilmaz: ‘He came in my office with tears in his eyes to tell me he felt something again, so we will see if we can get him fit for this cup final.’
John Lundstram is available again after suspension, although many Rangers fans believe he shouldn’t be selected again after his red card in the recent 2-1 loss at Celtic Park ended the team’s last hopes of winning the title.
‘I will never make decisions about what fans are thinking because that’s emotion and they don’t see training, they don’t know how the players are,’ said Clement.
‘I don’t need to answer that question about John starting or not. It’s about the decision with my staff about what I see in training and have seen in the last couple of months.’
Clement has had three attempts at beating Celtic but, to date, has only gained a point in a pulsating 3-3 draw at Ibrox in April
In terms of his personal reputation, he knows the importance of his fourth clash with Celtic cannot be overstated.
Borna Barisic may not yet be ready to make a return at left back for the Ibrox club
Dujon Sterling could be called into action at left back if Barisic or Yilmaz don’t make it
Clement is still to decide if John Lundstram will play after his red card at Celtic Park
While winning the famous old trophy is the clearly the main issue of the day, the Belgian can ill-afford to become known as a man who can’t get to grips with the biggest fixture on the card.
‘Every cup final is important,’ said the Belgian. ‘It is winning a trophy, winning a prize.
‘And I know the record of the Old Firms, so it is an opportunity now to break that cycle that has been going on for too long.
‘It’s an opportunity to take that moment and grab those moments in the game. In the last Old Firm games, we didn’t grab our moments. And, of course, we got two red cards — and they were deserved, there is no discussion about that — and that was an important part of the story.
‘So, we need to be better in grabbing the moments and, for sure, we need to be better in starting the game better.’
Even with a side that’s likely to be considerably below full-strength, Clement remains optimistic. Although his team ultimately lost those two games at Celtic Park 2-1, he feels the fact that they made their opponents sweat for the points despite having a man sent off on each occasion suggests any gap is bridgeable on the day.
Asked what gave him encouragement, he said: ‘That we have been always close. It has been one-goal difference in the two games we lost. It’s not as if we lost with a big difference.
‘We were in the game until the last seconds, it is now about taking these moments and to be better than we were in those games. I want to see more quality from the team, whoever is on the pitch.
‘In these games, everything can be decided in a split second. So, you need to be switched on all the time to win against every opponent in that game.’
