Gerrard sweats on Kent’ s fitness race

Rangers boss Steven Gerrard is bracing himself for confirmation that star attacker Ryan Kent could be out for a number of weeks with a hamstring injury.

The Gers forward came off during the second half of the 2-0 defeat to Lyon in their Europa League Group opener at Ibrox on Thursday night.

Gerrard also revealed striker Alfredo Morelos is a doubt for the cinch Premiership clash with Motherwell at Ibrox tomorrow.

The Light Blues manager said: “We certainly have a problem with Ryan Kent, he will be sent for a scan probably late afternoon or early evening but he is obviously going to be out for the weekend.

“If the doctor’s prediction is right he could miss a few weeks but we will know more this evening. Ryan had a rest in the international break, he trained well during the week. I don’t think he has been carrying any problem that got worse, this is just an isolated incident.

“You could see clearly that he pulled up with something, hopefully it is not as bad as it looked.

“The good thing is, if it is a hamstring injury, that might be three to four weeks which they normally are. We have an international break in that period to try and get him ready but I think he will definitely be missing for a few weeks if the doctor’s prediction is right.

“We also have Alfredo Morelos with a bit of a tight hamstring, not on Ryan Kent’s level but we might send him for a picture as well just to be sure on that one. So Alfredo is a doubt as well.”

Meanwhile, Ange Postecoglou will not approach a traditionally difficult trip to Livingston any differently than other matches as his Celtic side look to improve their away form.

Postecoglou’s side suffered a fifth defeat in six away games on Thursday when they went down to a 4-3 Europa League defeat against Real Betis, despite going two ahead in a storming start to the game.

A game on Livingston’s artificial surface against a side battling at the bottom of the cinch Premiership will offer a much different challenge.

Celtic have struggled there in recent seasons, failing to register a victory in four visits since the West Lothian side regained their top-flight status.

The environs and opposition tactics will be new to a number of Celtic players but Postecoglou sees every game as another chance to instil his attacking ethos into his team.

Quoted on Celtic’s official website, Postecoglou said: “It’s a good challenge for us. It’s always a difficult place to go and play, but from our perspective, hopefully we’ll get some bodies back and have some fresh legs and, again, it’s a good chance for us to continue on the way we want to play our football.”

Israel internationals Liel Abada and Nir Bitton could return after missing the Seville trip for religious reasons while Callum McGregor and James Forrest are close to comebacks.

Elsewhere today, Hibernian play host to St Mirren, while Ross County look for their first league win of the season when they welcome Hearts.