Rangers injury update as Borna Barisic fit for international duty after missing Celtic clash
Rangers defender Borna Barisic has been deemed fit ahead of Croatia’s September international fixtures, having missed the first Old Firm derby of the season with an injury.
The 30-year-old had pulled up in the Gers defeat to PSV and was expected to be fit to play against Celtic on Sunday (3 September) but failed a fitness test ahead of kick-off, with Dujon Sterling instead deployed at left-back in the Hoops’ 1-0 win.
But Barisic has since recovered from his injury and returned to fitness, with Croatia boss Zlatko Dalic having the defender at his disposal for Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Latvia and Armenia.
As quoted by the Daily Record on Tuesday (5 September), Dalic said: “Borna Barisic has had an injury, but the tests we did on him showed that it was nothing serious and he is fit and available for the games.
“He will be fine. We don’t have much time to train and prepare because the games come up very fast. We know what we can do and we will show it.”
Good news
While it is great news that the injury to Barisic is nothing too serious, it just makes it all the more frustrating that he wasn’t quite able to return to full fitness in time to play against Celtic as the naturally right-footed Sterling didn’t look too comfortable on the left-flank.
When fit, Barisic has been an ever-present this season and has managed to register two assists in three Scottish Premiership matches, and a further two more in Champions League qualifying games, placing him right at the top of the pecking order for Gers’ left-back position.
Ridvan Yilmaz did come off the bench against Celtic and the 22-year-old appears to be a more natural fit on the left side of defence than Sterling, but he struggled to have the same impact in possession that Barisic is capable of.
Last season the 30-year-old played 29 matches in the league, providing 10 assists and Barisic was part of the Croatia squad that competed in Qatar for the World Cup, with the Dalic’s side losing to eventual winners Argentina in the semifinals.
Rangers fans will just be hoping that their left-back can return from international duty still match fit and potentially even in a better condition than the one in which he departed, so they can at least have a naturally left-footed player at full-back.
In other Rangers news, one former player has said that the clock is already ticking for Beale to turn it around at Ibrox