Philippe Clement admits a Ryan Jack return to face Aris Limassol is ‘on the edge’.
The Rangers midfielder was absent against his former club Aberdeen as the Light Blues missed a golden chance to claw some points back on leaders Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership table after Brendan Rodgers’ men dropped rare points at home to Motherwell following a 90th minute leveller from Jonathan Obika after David Turnbull had netted from the spot four minutes earlier in what looked like the match-winning moment after Liam Kelly had earlier denied Luis Palma from 12-yards.
James Tavernier’s 94th minute penalty leveller rescued a point after VAR deemed Connor Goldson had been pulled back in the Aberdeen box. The visitors had a host of chances and hit the woodwork on a number of occasions while Kelle Roos was also on top form. Bojan Miovski grabbed an early goal for the hosts with Jack Butland also called into action at Pittodrie. It means the gap remains at eight points – having played one game less – in the race for the league title.
The fixtures come thick and fast with Europa League action taking centre stage on Thursday night. Group minnows Aris Limassol make the trip to Ibrox for a battle under the lights as Clement and Co look to book their spot in the knockout stage. The Rangers boss admits he is unsure how long Jack will be out for with the midweek battle looking touch and go.
He said: “We don’t know [how long Ryan will be out for] yet. I don’t think it will be something for a long time, more a short time, but I don’t know if he’s going to be ready for Thursday night. I think it will be on the edge.”
Jose Cifuentes made his first start under Clement in the 1-1 draw in the Granite City. Nico Raskin remains a major doubt meaning the midfielder could be asked to go again. The Belgian has labelled him a ‘different type’ to his team-mate while he also praised his efforts at Aberdeen after playing the full 90 minutes.
He added: “He’s a different type than Ryan but he did a good game. For sure, it’s not easy coming back after an injury, against a good opponent in a game with high tempo. It’s positive and also credit to the work of the medical staff and Jose over the last couple of weeks. He trained really well and was able to play 90 minutes in a game of this level.”
