Manager wary of huge French test STABILITY KEY FOR IBROX CLUB, INSISTS BOSZ
if you like, to the next step of one of the top five leagues in the world and produced. ‘So I have a lot of respect for the player in terms of his technical qualities and his ability. ‘But I don’t really get involved in opinions on whether Lyon are going to be weaker or stronger. ‘They have players capable of coming in and talent all over the pitch, especially in the front four positions. So it would be very naive of me to think Lyon are going to be any weaker just because one player is missing.’ Covid issues have already denied Rangers the services of midfielder Ianis Hagi. And while Connor Goldson has been cleared to return by the Scottish Government after a period of self-isolation, Gerrard has been hit with the loss for ‘a few months’ of Swedish international Helander following an operation. ‘Fil has had surgery in the last 24-48 hours to fix an issue when they went inside to have a look,’ he said. ‘So he will be missing for the foreseeable future. ‘I’ve not yet spoken to Fil post-surgery. It happened in the last 24 hours and I’m told he is still probably trying to get himself together after the surgery, if you like. I will be speaking to him in the near future to check on his mental state and also to update on what the surgeon said to Fil from a one-to-one point of view. ‘He is a big player for us, he has always been consistent and helped us since he came in the door. ‘So he will be a miss and a loss but that’s the reason it’s always important to have four centre-backs — so you can cope when one is missing. ‘In terms of how long he is going to be out for, it’s difficult to put a time frame on it. But he will certainly be missing for at least a few months.’ Key defender Goldson is free to partner Leon Balogun against Lyon in central defence tonight but Gerrard has ruled out a loan recall for Croatian Niko Katic. ‘Even if I had the opportunity to bring Niko back, I wouldn’t make that decision because it would be very selfish of me. ‘Because Niko’s at a stage where he needs to play regularly to get back to his level. ‘I’m confident we’ve got the right amount of cover, assuming we don’t have any more issues. ‘Connor Goldson comes back and is available for Thursday. We also have certain players who can fill in that position if need be. So it’s disappointing not to have Fil available but we’ll manage.’
LYON manager Peter Bosz claims the stability provided by Steven Gerrard’s three-year tenure is one of Rangers’ biggest strengths. Bosz brushed off the absence of the injured Moussa Dembele from tonight’s Europa League Group A opener, insisting his squad had the depth to find a solution. But the Dutchman, who won at Ibrox last year when in charge of Bayer Leverkusen, was a little more forthcoming on the qualities of the Premiership leaders. Bosz only took over at Lyon four months ago and argues the fact Gerrard has been in place since the summer of 2018 has enabled Rangers to develop real solidity. ‘First thing, the coach,’ said the 57-year-old when asked about the Ibrox outfit. ‘Because the coach has been here a long time and that’s definitely a strength. ‘Likewise, most of the team has been together for quite a long time. The players know each other and the way they play. That adds some strength to the team. ‘Of course, the fact they are playing at home in front of their supporters is going to be a huge help as well. ‘Finally, they do have good players. That’s another strength.’ Dembele (right) scored in Sunday’s 3-1 Ligue One success against Strasbourg but a calf issue means the ex-Celtic striker will not make a highly-anticipated appearance at Ibrox. Islam Slimani or Karl Toko Ekambi are the most likely replacements at the apex of the Lyon side. ‘Dembele was on form and he scored a lot of goals and he is important,’ said Bosz. ‘But we have more good players and I will pick somebody else for that position tomorrow who can also score goals. ‘We have different possibilities. We can change the system, we can change the players. I trust the players I have.’ Former Liverpool winger Xherdan Shaqiri travelled to Glasgow despite speculation he could also miss out. Bosz, however, hinted that the Swiss international might not start. ‘He only played the last game 70 minutes, he didn’t train with us at the beginning of the season for us, so we have to be careful with him,’ said the Lyon boss. ‘At Liverpool, he had some injuries, so we don’t want him to get injured, so it is important that we take care. But he is with us.’ Brazilian stars Bruno Guimaraes and Lucas Paqueta are available. Lyon cleared red tape about their quarantine status after both recently returned to their homeland for international duty. ‘I am happy that they are here and it is also logical that they are,’ said Bosz. ‘But as coach I know that in these corona days there are a lot of things passing your way and you have to deal with it and it can change really quick. ‘One day, they tell us they cannot come and a couple of hours later they can come, so you have to deal with it.’