Erling Haaland out of Rangers EL clash for Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund top scorer Erling Haaland has been ruled out of Thursday’s Europa League playoff first leg against Rangers through injury.
The 21-year-old hasn’t played since 26 January as he nurses a hip injury and tomorrow’s game comes too soon for the Norwegian.
The third-highest scorer in the Bundesliga (behind Robert Lewandowski and Patrick Schick) will be a big miss in the first leg but he could be back in the picture for the return leg at Ibrox the following week.
Black and Yellow manager Marco Rose confirmed the news in his pre-match press conference, as quoted by the Scottish Daily Express, bluntly saying: “He’s not an option.”
The Light Blues themselves have Ryan Jack back fit but Leon Balogun and Filip Helander will both miss the trip to Signal Iduan Park.
Advantage Rangers
There is no getting around the fact Haaland’s absence is an enormous boost for the Gers and a blessed relief for defenders Connor Goldson and Calvin Bassey.
Neither of them would have fancied playing against the six-foot four-inch physical specimen if they could choose so they can play with a little more freedom.
Rangers also have the advantage of rotating their team at the weekend as they breezed past League Two Annan Athletic in the Scottish Cup.
Rose was forced to field a full-strength side as BVB closed the gap to Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga, winning 3-0 away at Union Berlin.
Whether the fatigue of playing multiple games per week bites the German side back will become obvious in the latter stages of the game but fitness shouldn’t be a problem for the Gers.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst has a real chance to cause a big upset in the Europa League and etch his name into Ibrox folklore as he does so.
In other Rangers news, the club are ready to sell a star player for a 50% discount to the Premier League.