Giovanni van Bronckhorst provides Ryan Kent injury update as Rangers boss reflects on comeback of key striker

Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst has confirmed Ryan Kent could be available for selection ahead of Tuesday’s crucial Champions League qualifier after providing an injury update on the winger.

The Light Blues trail 2-0 against Belgian side Royale Union Saint-Gillloise from the first-leg of their third round qualifying tie and will need to overcome that margin of deficit for the first time in their history in European competition to progress to the play-off round.

Kent, who missed the trip to Leuven last week after picking up an ankle problem in the opening-day win over Livingston, was absent for the matchday squad at the weekend.

However, van Bronckhorst delivered some encouraging news on the playmaker’s current fitness status.

Speaking after Saturday’s 2-0 win over Kilmarnock at Ibrox, the Dutchman revealed: “Ryan for today, it was too short. We are working hard to get him ready for Tuesday. Hopefully we will manage to do so.”

Van Bronckhorst will be able to call on talisman Alfredo Morelos on Tuesday after the Colombian marked his return to action as a second half substitute against Killie with a goal.

The striker was making his first appearance since March after undergoing surgery on a thigh injury but van Bronckhorst remained tight-lipped on whether he would start against Union Saint-Gilloise.

He stated: “It is his first minutes after five months. If you think about it, it is a really long time and almost half a year.

“It was good to have him in the squad. You can see what he brings, not only to the squad but also the way the fans treated him when he came on.

“That is also what you have when he plays and he is always capable of scoring goals.

“For him, I think these first minutes of the season were very important and I a sure he will only get stronger with each game that he is going to be involved.”

Rangers struggled to create many goal-scoring opportunities in Belgium, despite retaining the majority of possession throughout the 90 minutes but van Bronckhorst is adamant having an increased attacking threat with the return of several key players will aid their cause.

He added: “I think we will improve in those areas, for sure. We have many new players in and it is also adjusting to the new system for them and different teammates.

“In the first five minutes we came through their defence quite a lot and were a bit unlucky not to score earlier.

“As long as we keep working hard in training and keep trying to create as many chances as we can, I think we will improve with each game we play.”