Erling Haaland is a ‘significant doubt’ for Rangers’ Europa League clash with Borussia Dortmund on Thursday, according to Bundesliga.com.
The lowdown
Haaland hasn’t featured for Dortmund since they beat TSG Hoffenheim 3-2 on 22 January. A muscular injury has sidelined the Norwegian striker for their last two matches.
Rangers are set to battle the German outfit, currently 2nd in the table behind Bayern Munich, for a place in the last 16 of the Europa League.
After hosting Marc Rose’s side on Thursday, they travel to the Westfalenstadion for the second leg on 24 February.
The latest
There was no sign of Haaland in Dortmund training on Monday as he instead underwent ‘further physiotherapy’, reports Bundesliga.com.
He’s not expected to feature at Ibrox, but there’s better news for the visitors when it comes to Gio Reyna, who’s recovered from illness.
The verdict
Rangers’ defenders may have fancied testing themselves against Haaland, but there’s no doubt that his absence, for the first leg at least, boosts their chances of progression.
Haaland has bagged 23 goals in just 20 appearances this season, remarkably averaging one every 70 minutes, and also pitched in with six assists.
The 6 foot 3 hitman is truly a nightmare for defenders, combining his ruthlessness in front of goal with ‘amazing’ pace (in the words of football writer Seb Stafford-Bloor).
When Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side were drawn against Dortmund, The Athletic’s Simon Johnson wished them ‘good luck’ up against the 21-year-old – the bad news for BVB is most certainly a boost for Gio’s Gers.
In other news, a source close to an injured Rangers star makes a ‘two months’ prediction.
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