Steven Gerrard has revealed Glasgow Rangers defender Leon Balogun picked up a niggle against Royal Antwerp in the Europa League on Thursday, but it shouldn't be a long-term issue.

Gerrard reveals Balogun issue

Balogun started for the Gers in the unfamiliar position of right-back at Ibrox during the week, and he was taken off at half-time to be replaced by Nathan Patterson.

Speaking after the match, Gerrard revealed the 31-time Nigeria international had an issue and was therefore substituted. He said:

"There’s a bit of a niggle in there with Leon’s quad muscle, which we’ll check out.

"We don’t think it’s too bad, but I think we’ve done the safe thing.

"Leon’s playing in a different position. It’s a different type of running, getting up and down, compared to when you’re playing in the middle as a centre-back.

"So, a bit of a precaution, and listening to the player, rather than it going worse and we miss him or weeks and weeks.

"Hopefully it’s just days."

Racking up

Gerrard could do with Balogun returning as soon as possible. With James Tavernier currently unavailable (The Daily Record), the Gers are already short in the defensive area - with important games coming up, the former Brighton defender could have a big role to play.

On Thursday, at least, Patterson showed he has what it takes to perform for the 54-time Scottish champions. He scored within a minute of being introduced, and was solid for the rest of the game. After the controversy of breaching coronavirus regulations earlier this month (Sky Sports), the 19-year-old grabbed his second chance with both hands.

In other news, Alfredo Morelos was disgusted with this man against Antwerp.