Rangers: Philippe Clement problem grows deeper at Ibrox after Fabio Silva news today
Rangers loanee Fabio Silva has been called up for Portugal Under-21s ahead of their upcoming qualifying fixtures.
Rui Jorge’s side host Faroe Islands on 21 March and then travel to Croatia five days later in a couple of Euro U21 qualifiers.
Portugal announced the news on their official X account [15 March], with the squad crammed full of talented players.
Rangers crash out of Europa League against Benfica
While the call-up is good news for Silva on a personal level, it means the youngster will not get an opportunity to rest up over the next fortnight.
As was abundantly clear in the Gers’ 1-0 loss to Benfica on Thursday (14 March), the number of matches is fast taking its toll on the players.
Silva was not alone in looking knackered come the final 25 minutes or so at Ibrox as Philippe Clement’s men exited continental competition.
In an ideal world, Clement would give every one of his players seven days off after this weekend’s Scottish Premiership trip to Dundee.
Celtic among April fixtures for Rangers
Instead, a number of players – Silva being the latest – will now jet off around the world and further run themselves into the ground.
With Hibernian, Celtic, Ross County and Hearts to face in the space of two-and-a-half weeks upon our return to action, that is a worry.
Clement will have to be clever with his squad rotation from this point on, but he can only work with what he has.
The biggest concern of all is that more and more injuries begin to occur as a result of players’ bodies shutting down on them.
Fabio Silva has had a good impact since joining on loan from Wolves, but let us hope he does not now drop off due to being fatigued.
In other Rangers news, a former Celtic employee has reacted to an appointment behind the scenes at Ibrox.
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