Rangers injury fears quashed as Giovanni van Bronckhorst issues James Sands update
American utility player James Sands was forced off with an injury against Hearts but the Rangers man is expected to be ready to face St Mirren.
The 22-year-old was replaced by Scott Arfield at half-time in what was thought to be a tactical decision but Giovanni van Bronckhorst later revealed that it was in fact an injury to the United States international.
Despite that, he confirmed in his press conference that it was only a small knock and that they were hopeful of him being available to play against the Saints, as per Heart and Hand.
It had looked like an innocuous injury having not been near any Hearts players when he went down which saw some fans fearing the worst.
But all seems to be fine now which will be a relief to van Bronckhorst with defensive injuries a real problem at Ibrox as Connor Goldson, John Souttar and Filip Helander are all out long term.
Useful
Sands is by no means the best player in the Rangers squad but his ability to play both central midfield and centre-half equally well is a huge benefit to the manager.
He knows that if he gets an injury in either defence or midfield, he can ask Sands to fill in the gap and he will be able to perform and that kind of flexibility is invaluable in the modern game.
More players at Auchenhowie should be trying to improve their game in multiple positions to keep their place in the squad long-term because only those exceptional talents can maintain their place in one position.
Someone like Ryan Jack could do with being able to play more than just central midfield to get himself into the side more regularly and increase his chances of being a regular for Scotland too.
It would be handy to have him available against St Mirren just in case as he has now missed out on the States’ World Cup squad.
In other Rangers news, Michael Stewart shared his verdict on van Bronckhorst and whether he should be sacked on BBC Sportscene.