Aasgaard ruled out in double Rangers blow v Panathinaikos – ‘It would be crazy to play him’
Russell Martin will be without Thelo Aasgaard as Rangers face Panathinaikos in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The Greek outfit host the Gers in Athens in the second leg on 30 July in the second qualifying round of the European competition.
Findlay Curtis and Djeidi Gassama scored as Panathanaikos lost 2-0 at Ibrox, and supporters in G51 will be confident of progressing to the next round.
Aasgaard picked up a slight knock early during pre-season and will be joined by another teammate on the sidelines as the Glaswegian outfit travel to the Olympic Stadium.
Hamza Igamane also injured for Panathinaikos v Rangers
Hamza Igamane and Aasgaard are unavailable for the Gers against Panathinaikos, Martin shares.
The Scottish manager revealed that the rest of the squad is fit and ready in Athens as the Light Blues take a two-goal advantage from Ibrox.
Martin feels it would be “crazy” to play the ex-Luton Town midfielder and risk exacerbating his fitness issue this early into the season, which is undoubtedly the right call.
Speaking to the media, as relayed by the Glaswegian outfit on X (29 July), the 39-year-old head coach said: “Hamza [Igamane] and Thelo [Aasgaard] are the only ones who didn’t make it, everyone else is fit and ready to go.
“Thelo didn’t quite make it, to risk him early on at this stage of the season would be crazy, so we will make sure he is right.”
Martin to start Danilo as striker
Danilo made the starting lineup at Ibrox in the first leg against Panathinaikos, but failed to impress.
Cyriel Dessers and Igamane came on as substitutes in the second half, but Martin didn’t have the opportunity to work with them much during pre-season.
Despite the Brazilian striker’s underwhelming outing in the 2-0 victory, the Scottish manager may trust him once again to lead the line.
| Statistics | Rangers | Panthinaikos |
| Possession | 75 per cent | 25 per cent |
| xG | 1.57 | 1.65 |
| Total shots | 16 | 14 |
| Big chances | 2 | 3 |
Rangers will be favourites to qualify further in the Champions League, but they will undoubtedly have a tough test in Athens.
Aasgaard’s absence arguably won’t be felt much, with the midfield trio of Joe Rothwell, Nico Raskin and Mohamed Diomande.
The Ibrox faithful will be excited to see what Martin has in store for them after evidently taking lessons from the reverse fixture.
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