Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst delivers major injury update on seven players ahead of Livingston match at Ibrox

Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst has issued a major injury update on a number of key players after suffering another setback to his defensive options.

The Dutchman revealed left-back Ridvan Yilmaz is the latest player to visit the Ibrox club’s treatment table after sustaining a knock to his knee during the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final win over Dundee on Wednesday night.

The £3.4million summer signing from Turkish giants Besiktas has taken time to adapt to his new surroundings in Glasgow, completing only his second match from start to finish in midweek. However, the 21-year-old is now rated a major doubt for tomorrow’s Scottish Premiership encounter against Livingston with a minor setback.

Van Bronckhorst is already without up to TEN first-team stars, with long-term absentees John Souttar, Filip Helander and Ryan Jack not expected to return until after the World Cup break.

Asked if he will look to address the current injury crisis when the January transfer window opens, the Light Blues boss said: “At the moment, if the situation stays like this then we will look to do something. It’s still October, we have two-and-a-half months to prepare for the January window. I’m hopeful we’ll have players back by that time.”

“We don’t have any issues from Wednesday apart from Ridvan. I was really happy with his performance and contribution - he’s much further along now and closer to playing games for us. But he had a knock on his knee and we will continue to assess him.

“That’s the only fresh doubt we have for tomorrow. He will be out short-term. He played his first 90 minutes, so we have to be careful with him.”

Midfielder John Lundstram confirmed in a podcast earlier this week that he has been playing through the pain barrier for almost a month with an ankle problem, while Glen Kamara has been left out of the last three matchday squads owing to a similar injury.

Van Bronckhorst is hopeful the latter will recover in time for their Champions League clash with Napoli on Wednesday.

He declared: “John is okay. We have carried out a lot of scans and sometimes it’s just there for the physio to see if there is any more damage or things they don’t see. Everything was okay with John. A scan doesn’t always mean you have a problem, it’s just to make sure you have the right diagnosis. He is fit.

“Glen had a problem with his ankle, so he hasn’t been in the squad for the last 10 days. He went to London this week and he’s now back available to train. Hopeful he will return for the game against Napoli. We are a little bit short in midfield but Glen will be back soon.”

Van Bronckhorst also provided an update on the condition of vice-captain Connor Goldson after the centre-back picked up a minor tear in his thigh muscle during the 7-1 Champions League humbling against Liveprool. Early reports suggested the Englishman could be out for several months but the injury is understood to not be as bad as initially feared.

Van Bronckhorst stated: “I’m not sure yet about Connor, but I hope we will have him back before January. It was a little bit more positive than we thought. We won’t have any games for five weeks because of the World Cup break so the injured players will benefit in terms of their recoveries.”

Ianis Hagi is making steady progress in his rehabilitation after having extensive knee surgery and Van Bronckhorst is looking forward to welcoming the playmaker back into the first-team setup for the first time in almost a year.

“Ianis is in the final stretch of his recovery. I am really happy for him as he is one of our most creative players. Tom (Lawrence) had a fantastic start to the season and we will miss him until his return.”

One player who did provide the Gers boss with a timely boost was Kemar Roofe following a lengthy five-month period on the sidelines. The Jamaican international came off the bench for the final 20 minutes against Dundee, his first involvement since last season’s Europa League final.

With only two natural strikers - Alfredo Morelos and Antonio Colak - available in recent months, Van Bronckhorst is delighted to have Roofe back in contention.

He admitted: “Kemar has played close to the striker before on either wing in a slightly different system, so it is another option I have to play. That was his first minutes on Wednesday but we are happy to have him back. We need to manage him and continue to bring him back stronger and stronger but he’s definitely a player who can contribute to our attacking play.”