Barry Ferguson believes the loss of Ryan Jack for the Europa League final will be more significant than Kemar Roofe’s potential absence.
The former Gers captain was speaking ahead of Wednesday’s showpiece in Seville, where the Glasgow giants will take on Eintracht Frankfurt, with the winner securing Champions League football for next season.
Do you think Rangers will win the Europa League?Yes
No
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Roofe hasn’t played for the club since their quarter-final win over Braga, where he scored in the second leg, but Joe Aribo has deputised to “brilliant” effect, according to Kevin Thomson, in that centre-forward position in his absence.
Meanwhile, Jack, who has dealt with injury problems all season, has been out since the Old Firm derby draw on 1st May and is a doubt for Wednesday’s game – and having started all eight legs of the Europa League knockout stages so far, Ferguson feels it would be a huge loss.
He told Go Radio (via Ibrox News): “I’m not really bothered [about Roofe]. They’ve got this far without an out-and-out striker.
“I think if Roofe trains well, Gio will put him in, but that will depend on how he does tonight and tomorrow.
“I’m more worried about Ryan Jack, you need him in there. He’s been exceptional since he signed for Rangers.
“Aribo’s starting to show the form he did in the early part of the season, and Jack and Lundstram have struck up an excellent partnership.”
TIF Thoughts on Jack and Rangers…
Persistent injuries this term have limited the 30-year-old to just over 1,200 minutes of football this season, but more than half of his time spent on the pitch has been in Europe, with Giovanni van Bronckhorst seemingly managing his workload to keep him fit for nights on the continent.
Is Roofe the answer to Morleos?Yes
No
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His 6.94 average SofaScore rating throughout the competition is significantly higher than Roofe’s (6.61) and is just short of top-performing midfielder John Lundstram (6.99).
Having racked up 400 appearances between his time at Aberdeen and at Ibrox, the Scottish international’s experience will be invaluable for a game like Wednesday night and supporters will certainly be hoping that he makes it.
In other news, “It would be a huge boost”: Journalist makes huge Rangers prediction amid UEL final