Ianis Hagi returns with Antonio Colak but three still missing – Early Rangers team news vs St Johnstone
Ianis Hagi will return to the Rangers squad for the first time in a year for the game against St Johnstone at Ibrox on Saturday, Michael Beale has revealed.
The Romanian attacker hasn’t been seen in a Gers shirt since being ruled out with a major knee injury in January last year, and the manager is “delighted” he will be in the squad but not playing a full game, while new signing Todd Cantwell is also set to provide competition for places.
Top scorer Antonio Colak is also back to complete a triple-boost, but centre-back John Souttar is still not ready to be involved.
The manager said in his pre-match press conference, via the club’s official Twitter: “Ianis Hagi will be in the squad for tomorrow.
“It’s been a year since he has played a game, I am delighted to have him back – he isn’t ready yet for 90 minutes.
“Souttar just needs a little bit more time and we won’t rush him back.
“Ianis is massive for us, to have him and Todd (Cantwell) is great – we feel in a really strong place with those two available, they have been great in training. It gives us a lot of variety and competition for places.
“Colak will be back in the squad for tomorrow.”
In addition, forward Kemar Roofe is “not far” from returning to training again, while Ridvan Yilmaz should be available in “the coming weeks”.
Double-header
The cup victory at McDiarmid Park last week was a scruffy affair, and were it not for a difficult pitch and some wayward finishing should probably have ended in a more comfortable scoreline.
Back on the Ibrox turf with the home fans behind them there should be plenty of confidence in this Rangers side getting three points this weekend, especially with the returning players.
Yet this is exactly the sort of match that so often tripped the Gers up under Giovanni van Bronckhorst, even during the rousing run through the Europa League last season, when an apparently comfortable domestic fixture would trip them up and end in a frustrating draw.
That tendency appears to have been dismissed by Beale who has seen his side dig out wins from the jaws of defeat in his short time in charge.
Having missed out on a huge three points from the Old Firm derby on 2 January it might feel like there is little to motivate the players in the league, with the gap remaining at nine points, but keeping in form for the two cups, keeping the pressure on to take advantage of any Celtic slip-ups, and basic Light Blues pride has to maintain standards.
In other Rangers news, the club have made a high six-figure bid as they look to get another signing over the line before Tuesday.