Rangers handed huge Europa League boost as Erling Haaland ‘out’ of Thursday’s clash with Borussia Dortmund

Erling Haaland is set to MISS Borussia Dortmund’s Europa League first-leg clash with Rangers on Thursday night in a significant pre-match boost to the Scottish champions.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side will travel to Germany later this week to take on the Bundesliga giants in the last 32 of the competition.

Norwegian star Haaland, considered one of the best strikers in world football, was left out of Dortmund’s matchday squad for their game against Union Berlin yesterday due to a muscle strain.

According to German media outlet Ruhr Nachrichten BVB, the 21-year-old now looks unlikely to feature against the Light Blues at the Westfalendstadion.

Haaland has already scored 28 goals in just 23 appearances in all competitions for club and country so far this season, but he hasn’t played since scoring in a 3-2 victory over Hoffenheim last month.

Dortmund manager Marco Rose, who has already pinpointed Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent as Rangers two key players his side will need to keep quiet, is reportedly preparing for the match without Halland.

It is the seventh game Halland has missed due to injury problems this term and it remains to be seen whether the 6ft 4in talisman will be involved in the second leg at Ibrox on Thursday, February 24.

Speaking after Dortmund’s 3-0 win on Sunday as they continue to chase down leaders Bayern Munich, Rose believes his side must get off to a fast start against Rangers on Thursday night.

He said: “They play 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3, they attack with speed down the left wing with Ryan Kent and they have a little strike up front, Alfredo Morelos, who works hard, fights and knows where the goal is.

“In general, they are a force at home, Ibrox is known for the atmosphere but we’re at home first.

“We know it will be an intense game so we want to make our mark in the first leg. The Europa League is a new competition for us and a lot of our players have never played in it.

“Rangers are a really good team who play good football. It’s important that we enjoy this win and let out the frustration from last week.

“We’ve had a few slaps in the face recently so it was important we kept a clean sheet. We can build on that, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us.”