Kris Boyd right to air Rangers concern after what he saw live on Sky Sports
Rangers secured a 1-1 draw away at Panathinaikos on Wednesday to advance into the next round of Champions League qualifying.
Djeidi Gassama scored a fantastic second-half goal to give Rangers some breathing room after they had gone 1-0 down on the night, but they still had to hold on as the Greek side threw everything at them.
Rangers were on the ropes during periods of the match, but it was an impressive result given the circumstances.
Russell Martin’s side will now face Viktoria Plzen in the third qualifying round next week.
Boyd spots worrying injury concern for Rangers
Covering the game for Sky Sports, Kris Boyd admitted that Rangers rode their luck and would need to sharpen up defensively if they wanted to progress further.
This could be more difficult as Nasser Djiga was spotted holding his groin toward the end of the match.
Djiga put in a momentous shift to limit Panathinaikos to one goal in the second leg, and Boyd suggested he would be a huge miss if he were unavailable for Rangers’ upcoming games.
He said: “Worryingly, Djiga, just as the end of the game for Rangers, was holding his groin. Russell Martin will be hoping that that injury isn’t too serious.
“It was absolutely boiling out there tonight and you can tell the players put in a shift.”
Rangers are in somewhat of a unique position to have to play such important games before some other teams have even started their season.
They travel to Motherwell for their first Scottish Premier League fixture on 2 August, with the first leg of their next Champions League fixture a few days later.
Djiga will play a crucial role if Rangers continue to progress
Djiga has enjoyed a fantastic start to his Rangers career.
The Burkina Faso international is at Ibrox on a season-long loan from Wolves, and he has already shown why the Premier League club were willing to spend £10million to sign him.
Djiga is only 22 years old, but he marshalled the Rangers defence well and was willing to throw his body in front of anything to protect his goal.
| Panathinaikos | Rangers | |
| Goals | 1 | 1 |
| Attempts on goal | 20 | 10 |
| Possession | 44% | 56% |
Rangers weren’t perfect defensively, but Djiga is already building a promising partnership with John Souttar at the back.
The Ibrox side continues to be linked with a move for Conor Coady, and he’ll be expected to partner one of these two if he is signed.
Still, Rangers will be hoping that Djiga is available for the next round of Champions League qualifying. They’ll have a greater chance of progressing if that’s the case.
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