'A serious one' - Rangers suffer more injury agony as Ferguson confirms star out 'long-term' with surgery booked

Rangers defender Dujon Sterling will undergo surgery on Monday after picking up an Achilles injury against Athletic Bilbao that will rule him out “long term”.

The versatile 25-year-old was stretchered off in added time during the goalless Europa League quarter-final first leg against the La Liga side at Ibrox on Thursday, forcing them to see out the game with nine players following Robin Propper’s early red card.

And interim head coach Barry Ferguson has revealed he is “devastated at the news, with Sterling only returning to action last month after a foot injury that forced him to miss 12 matches.

The Englishman has been severely hampered with injuries since signing for the Light Blues from Premier League giants Chelsea back in 2023.

Ahead of the Scottish Premiership clash with Aberdeen at Pittodrie this afternoon, Ferguson told Sky Sports: “I just got a bit of bad news about Dujon - he’s going to be long term, He’s had a serious one.

“I’m devastated for him for a few reasons. He’s come in and he’s been immense for me at the back. He’s had his injury issues and now he’ll need to suffer another lengthy time on the sidelines, which I’m devastated about.

“But that’s football, we have to move on. We’ll get around him, he’s a popular member of the dressing room and has been a big player for me. We just need to get him back fit as quickly as we can.

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“I don’t know exactly (how long he will be out for) but I mean long term. I’m no medical expert but I’ve spoken to the doctor, he’ll go for surgery on Monday and we’ll just need to wait and see how that goes.”

Meanwhile, Gers hero Kris Boyd has warned his old club their heroic European effort will count for nothing unless they follow it up with a win against the Dons.

Ferguson’s men produced a gutsy display to hold Bilbao to a 0-0 draw, despite going down to 10 men for almost 80 minutes plus stoppage time with stand-in keeper Liam Kelly pulling off a vital penalty save.

But with a massive second leg in San Mames looming, Rangers must first overcome Europe-chasing Aberdeen at a venue where they haven’t won since Scott Arfield’s late strike in December 2022.

They went down 2-1 on their previous visit to the North East in October - and Boyd believes it’s time to set the record straight.

Speaking on the William Hill ‘The Warm-Up’ podcast, he said: “Rangers fans demand you win every single game, do you think they’re going up to Pittodrie for a holiday? No chance.

“They need to go up there and win the game, they’ve already been up there and lost this season, they need to go up, put in a performance where at least the fans come away and say ‘there’s at least a bit of fight there, there’s a grit, determination’ ahead of a huge game in Bilbao.”

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