Rangers could be without a “brilliant” player for the Scottish League Cup final clash with Celtic, according to a fresh claim, joining John Souttar as an injury doubt for the game.
Rangers sweating over Souttar's fitness
Philippe Clement’s side earned a respectable 1-1 draw at home to Tottenham in the Europa League on Thursday night, in what was one of their better performances of the season so far. The European point at Ibrox came at a cost, however, with Souttar forced off through injury before half-time, leading to concerns surrounding a potential lengthy absence for one of Rangers’ most important players.
The 28-year-old has been a defensive rock for the Gers in 2024/25 to date, starting 14 games in the Scottish Premiership and six matches in the Europa League, so having to make do without him for an extended period of time would be a major blow.
That said, having Souttar available for Sunday’s League Cup final clash with Celtic is the most important thing for the time being, as Clement’s men look to get one over on their rivals and win their first piece of silverware of the season.
Rangers could be without "brilliant" ace v Celtic
Speaking after the clash with Spurs, Clement admitted that he can’t confirm if Rangers striker Hamza Igamane will be available against Celtic, with the striker also a doubt alongside Souttar.
“Your first question about John and Hamza, I cannot say anything for the moment, so it’s too close after the game. I wish I could because that would ease my mind also towards tomorrow but it’s not the case so we will see in the next two days how it is with them. And about freshness, we’re not going to think about that.
“We’re going to recover as fast as possible and best as possible and we’re going to throw all our energy into that game at Hampden.”
Igamane showed exactly what he is capable of against Spurs, opening the scoring on Thursday evening, so seeing him ruled out of the weekend meeting with Celtic would be a massive setback for Clement.
The 22-year-old has scored four goals in as many appearances in the Europa League this term, as well as bagging twice in the league, while Derek Ferguson has expressed his admiration of him: “Igamane is a real breath of fresh air, the young man.
“The manager said he was trying to get him up to speed, but in the last few games he has been nothing short of brilliant. He is off the cuff and he had three or four nutmegs this afternoon – and took his goal brilliantly. I don’t know if you remember Ted McMinn, but Igamane’s got that unpredictability.”
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Hopefully, Igamane comes through this next day or two positively, becoming available for selection on Sunday, and he has the ability to be a match-winner at Hampden Park. If he and Souttar are both out, however, Rangers’ hopes of glory will be damaged significantly.
