Rangers face opening day nightmare as four players could miss out vs Dundee United

Rangers could be without at least four stars when they face Dundee United on the opening day.

The Gers will travel to the Tangerines' Tannadice Stadium to kick off their campaign on 31 July.

The Light Blues will be looking to start the season well as they seek to catch up with Hearts and Celtic, who finished miles above them last season.

There will be a lot of hope and expectation surrounding Derek McInnes' first game in charge.

However, their Scottish World Cup contingent could miss out on the curtain-raiser.

It would require a certain set of circumstances, but it is a nightmare scenario that may work out.

Why may three Rangers players miss the opening day?

Findlay Curtis, John Souttar, Lawrence Shankland and Liam Kelly are the four players who may not be available for the clash as the Bears start their campaign.

The first outcome that means they would miss out is if Scotland reach the quarter-finals, as they are held between 9-12 July.

The second is if their pre-season is disrupted, as a result of Scotland getting out of the group stages.

FIFA requires a mandatory 21 days' holiday for a player after the season ends, so a quarter-final berth would be bad news for Rangers, and a round of 16 or 32 exit for the Tartan Army may still leave their status in question.

Why it may be a problem for Derek McInnes

While three of those players may not have been regular starters under Danny Rohl, McInnes may have different plans for them as he starts his reign in the dugout.

If he did plan to use them, he will perhaps hope that Scotland don't make it out of the groups at the tournament, as that will make life much easier.

If any players in their position get injured between now and the opening day, it would be a further blow for the new boss that the Scotland stars may not be available.

It may not have been a problem for Rohl, but it may well be for the former Hearts boss who has taken over, if he plans to select them.

We will only know what will happen in terms of their participation when Steve Clarke's side's campaign comes to an end.

Shankland will surely be one of the first names on his teamsheet, and he could be without him.