Blow for Gers as Wallace out for up to two months

Brendan Rodgers believes Morelos will not need any provocation

Rangers captain Lee Wallace faces up to two months out with a groin injury, manager Pedro Caixinha has confirmed.

But both Bruno Alves and Declan John could still face Celtic tomorrow after going off with injuries in Tuesday’s Betfred Cup win over Partick Thistle.

Wallace had already been ruled out of the derby clash at Ibrox after going off in his team’s previous trip to Maryhill, and a trip to a specialist in Manchester has revealed the extent of his lay-off.

Caixinha said: “He needs three weeks to rest totally and then after he needs three to five weeks to get totally recovered, so it’s six to eight weeks in total.”

Alves limped off with a thigh injury during Rangers’ 3-1 extra-time victory while John, Wallace’s replacement at left-back, went off with a thigh problem after shaking off an ankle knock to start.

Caixinha said: “After extra-time you need even longer to recover. So we are still assessing Declan, Bruno and all the others who finished the game.”

Asked if he was confident John and Alves would play, Caixinha said: “I’m always positive, always confident but I need to assess. As soon as we have the information we will take a decision.”

Caixinha has warned frontman Alfredo Morelos to keep a lid on his emotions during the Old Firm showdown as he fears Celtic will set out to ‘provoke’ him.

The Colombian has been Gers’ most impressive performer this term with eight goals since his summer switch from HJK Helsinki.

But there have been signs that the 21-year-old can be easily riled – he was lucky not to face punishment after appearing to kick out at Partick Thistle defender Jordan Turnbull during last Friday night’s 2-2 draw.

Now Caixinha believes the Hoops players will try to take advantage of his temper at Ibrox.

Meanwhile, Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers believes Morelos will not need any provocation.

Rodgers said: “It is not really something we concentrate on.

“I don’t think he needs any help in that, watching the game the other night against Partick.

“We really concentrate on ourselves.”

He added: “He is a young boy who has come into the country and started his campaign well.

“He has got some goals and wants to score goals and sometimes when you are young you can get a wee bit fired up, but we concentrate on our own work.

“We always respect the other team and their qualities and focus very much on ourselves to get a good performance and result.”

Jozo Simunovic missed the 4-0 Betfred Cup win over Dundee at Dens Park on Wednesday night with a swollen knee in a game which saw fellow defender Dedryck Boyata feature for the first time this season after recovering from a knee injury.

Striker Moussa Dembele, recently back from a hamstring injury, was rested and Rodgers is confident all three will be ready for the trip to Govan.

He said: “Jozo has come through fine. He had a good training session today, he should be fit and in the squad.

“Dedryck came through (Wednesday night) fine, we will assess him again tomorrow just to make sure but all good on that front. Moussa will be in the squad.

Picture: PA. Pedro Caixinha has warned frontman Alfredo Morelos to keep a lid on his emotions during the Old Firm clash.