Philippe Clement provides injury update on Nico Raskin ahead of Hearts v Rangers
Philippe Clement has confirmed Nico Raskin will be sidelined “a little bit longer than we hoped” as the Rangers boss provided a fitness update ahead of the Hearts match.
Raskin has not played since the 2-1 win over Hearts at Ibrox on 29 October and no timescale has been given for his return to action.
Clement provided an update on the Belgium Under-21s international at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday (5 December), as per Rangers’ official Twitter account.
“Nico will be a little bit longer than we hoped to be fit – everyone is working to their maximum, sometimes these things happen,” Clement said.
Asked about any further injury setbacks, with Ryan Jack, Kieran Dowell and Steven Davis the others currently sidelined, Clement said: “There were no fresh injuries in training yesterday. Hopefully, there’ll be no issues this afternoon.”
Clement also revealed that Dowell, who last played in on 1 November, is also training every day with the hope of soon making a return.
Race against time
Being without midfield pair Raskin and Jack at the busiest time of the season is far from ideal as far as Clement is concerned.
John Lundstram and Jose Cifuentes are both available, while Tom Lawrence has done a good job in shifting into the engine room.
It does mean, however, that any further injuries and suspensions in that area would be pretty devastating ahead of some crunch fixtures.
Raskin has started 14 games for Rangers this season, highlighting his importance, but it remains to be seen exactly when he will return.
With the Viaplay Cup final against Aberdeen fast approaching, plus the Old Firm clash with Celtic, Clement will likely have to start preparing for those fixtures without Raskin.
The only positive is that Rangers are continuing to pick up points without him, and his return to action will provide a welcome boost – whenever that may be.
In other Rangers news, a journalist has raised “concern” with regards to a development at the Gers.