Early Rangers team news v Kilmarnock: Forward could be ruled out in fresh blow

Rangers could be without Ross McCausland when they take on Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on Sunday with Philippe Clement’s men returning to Scottish Premiership action.

McCausland, 21, had been called up to Michael O’Neill’s most recent Northern Ireland squad but due to a minor injury, he was unable to take part in Nations League clashes against Belarus and Bulgaria.

He’s since returned to Glasgow and it seems he’s not quite shaken off the issue that ruled him out of those two matches.

As quoted by Rangers’ official X account on Friday (18 October) ahead of Sunday’s match (20 October) in Ayrshire, Clement said: “Luckily, [there have been] no injuries from international duty.

“The only one is Ross but he had a small issue before the break, he is back in training but not certain to be available.”

Ross McCausland injury worry for Rangers

McCausland’s injury has been constantly played down but he’s already missed two competitive games for Northern Ireland and now he looks set to miss a league game for the Gers.

As quoted by News Letter on 11 October, Northern Ireland boss O’Neill said that the forward had a niggling injury.

No details of what the injury is have been disclosed by either O’Neill or Clement, which suggests that it’s true and they don’t think much of the winger’s setback. Or that they’re covering up the fact they’re not 100 per cent sure just what the issue is just yet.

But taking our tin-foil hat off for a moment, all the signs suggest McCausland could either be on the bench at Kilmarnock this weekend and should be involved again properly over the course of next week, when Rangers play at Ibrox against both FCSB in the Europa League on Thursday (24 October) and St Mirren in the league on Sunday (27 October).

McCausland’s form has been hit and miss so far this season with two goals scored in 11 games across all competitions. He’s also amassed just 355 minutes of playing time with his longest appearance being an hour-long display against Dynamo Kyiv in Champions League qualifying in early August.

Once he’s back to fitness, he needs to start getting back to showing why he deserves a spot in Clement’s squad because most of the signs are currently suggesting he’s not quite ready.

In other Rangers news, Barry Ferguson has shared what he’s heard about John Gilligan from behind the scenes at Ibrox.

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