Rangers: Chris Sutton wants Scottish football ban as he sweats on Celtic pair Cameron Carter-Vickers and Reo Hatate for cup derby
Chris Sutton has slammed artificial pitches as he revealed his concerns for injured Celtic players a week before the Scottish Cup semi final clash with Rangers at Hampden Park.
With both Glasgow rivals having one final SPFL fixture to fulfil before the meeting at the national stadium, which will decide whether Michael Beale has a chance to end the season on a positive note, the Hoops have fitness concerns.
US defender Cameron Carter-Vickers was left out of Celtic’s win at Kilmarnock last weekend (14 April), and Japanese midfielder Reo Hatate has been absent throughout the month, so the pundit is unsure of either featuring on 30 April, but has rounded on “too dangerous” plastic pitches for their role.
He said on his Daily Record column on Saturday morning (22 April): “Leaving out Carter-Vickers wouldn’t have been an easy decision but it just shows why these horrendous plastic pitches should be outlawed in the top flight. If they are deemed too dangerous for some players then they shouldn’t be allowed.
“Record Sport’s story about Carter-Vickers struggling with an injury is a concern. Does [Ange] Postecoglou play him today and save him for next week? Can he even be risked at Hampden?
“It will all depend on the player’s pain threshold. Everyone is sore at this time of the season, it just depends on how much hurt they can handle. Carter-Vickers has been a colossus for Celtic and it would be a major blow if he wasn’t able to play next week.
“Hatate is another interesting one. Does he need to play today to have any chance of making the Rangers game? I would have thought so. He’s been out for more than a month and it would be a gamble throwing him straight back in.”
Ramping up
The pressure is huge for both sides heading into this one with Celtic chasing a treble and Rangers looking to claw back something out of a lost season.
Postecolgou doesn’t seem as concerned about Carter-Vickers as Sutton does given he said he will play against Motherwell on Saturday [BBC Sport].
Artificial turf may be the difference between games actually being played or regularly postponed in some areas of Scotland but it is less than ideal for any players to miss matches over fitness fears specifically related to them.
Rangers will be more concerned with a centre-back of their own as Connor Goldson’s last-minute absence from the 3-2 defeat at Parkhead on 8 April proved costly as both Ben Davies and replacement John Souttar made key errors to concede goals.
Hatate spending a month out and then being thrown into a Gers clash immediately seems unlikely so he should be one less thing for the Light Blues to worry about.
A trip to Pittodrie on Sunday to face Aberdeen is no light work out before a huge semi final so both managers are sure to be hoping that no new injury concerns are added to the ones they are already dealing with.
In other Rangers news, a key Ibrox figure has been branded the “obvious villain” of a “horror show” this season.