Steven Gerrard has confirmed that Ryan Jack, Lassana Coulibaly and Scott Arfield should all be fit to play in Rangers’ Europa League clash with Maribor on Thursday night.
The Light Blues travel to Slovenia on Wednesday morning for the second-leg of their third round qualifier on Thursday, having beaten Maribor 3-1 at Ibrox last week.
Jack has missed the last two matches with concussion but is in contention to feature this week, while Coulibaly’s knock against St Mirren at the weekend shouldn’t cause any issues and Arfield’s omission from the 2-0 Scottish Premiership win was simply down him being resting.
“Ryan is back in full training today (Tuesday) so assuming he gets through today and tomorrow he will be available for selection,” said Gerrard, as quoted on Rangers’ official website.
He added: “Lassana has recovered quite well and we don’t think it is a big issue, we think it is more down to maybe fatigue.
“Scott was just rested at the weekend, he had two or three weeks out with his knee and then he came back and played two full games, one of them was with ten men against Aberdeen.”
OPINION
This is a massive boost for Rangers going into their second-leg clash with Maribor this week. The Slovenians have an away goal and that could prove crucial in this game, so it is important that Gerrard has a fully fit and well rested squad that also has to be prepared for the possibility of extra-time. Jack has had his injury issues since signing for the Light Blues last year, but when he has been able to play he has proved to be quite the key player, however he is probably not expected to start this game and only make the bench. Coulibaly and Arfield have been superb in the centre of midfield and they are more than likely going to continue there in Maribor on Thursday. Arfield is well rested after missing the win against St Mirren and it has certainly paid off for Gerrard to add plenty of depth to his squad to balance playing in Europe and domestic football.