The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Mystery injury sidelines Rangers midfielder Jack
James Tavernier is closing in on his return to action with Rangers – but Ryan Jack has been sent to see a London specialist as puzzled Ibrox chiefs struggle to get to the bottom of his injury woes.
Skipper Tavernier damaged knee ligaments in a Europa League clash with Royal Antwerp back in February and was forced to watch on from the sidelines as Steven Gerrard’s team cruised over the Premiership finish line to claim the club’s first title in a decade last month.
But there has been mixed news on the injury front as Ibrox assistant boss Gary McAllister confirmed that while Tavernier is back in light training alongside Niko Katic – ruled out since August with a serious knee injury – Jack is no closer to getting his boots back on.
The Scotland midfielder has been ruled out since suffering a recurrence of his lingering calf issues against Dundee United three days after Tavernier’s blow in Belgium and was forced to pull out of Steve Clarke’s national squad for last week’s World Cup qualifiers.
Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s Scottish Cup
third-round showdown with Cove Rangers, McAllister said: “The positive on Tav is that he is back on the grass and that was nice to see yesterday.
“He’s out there training on his own with the physios but that’s a big positive. He’s getting closer and closer.
“Ryan has been down in London seeing some specialists. We’re awaiting some of the results coming back up from that visit.
“We’re obviously just trying to get some further investigations to get to the bottom of Ryan’s problem, so we’ll wait for the results of that.
“Niko
Katic is back on the grass which is also good to see.”
There was positive news on the contract front over the international break as Gers announced veterans Allan McGregor and Steven Davis had penned new oneyear deals, with Leon Balogun also understood to have triggered the option of an extra 12 months in Glasgow.
McGregor will be 40 by the time his new deal expires in the summer of 2022 but McAllister sees no signs the former Scotland keeper is slowing down.
“It was a no-brainer, absolutely, and he thoroughly deserves it as well,” he said.
● Rangers have appealed against the four-match bans handed to five of their players for breaching Covid-19 regulations.
First-team players Nathan Patterson, Bongani Zungu and Calvin Bassey, plus academy youngsters Brian Kinnear and Dapo Mebude, who is on loan at Queen of the South, were charged by the SFA after attending an illegal house party last month.
Their punishments came with a further two-match ban suspended until the end of the season.