Ryan Kent will miss the first leg of Rangers' Champions League qualifier tonight through injury, according to the club's official media partners Heart & Hand. 

The lowdown

The Ibrox club are in Belgium to take on Jupiler Pro League side Union Saint-Gilloise in the third qualifying round of the competition.

In his pre-match press conference, Giovanni van Bronckhorst said that 'a couple' of unnamed players were considered doubts for the game.

It seems that Kent, who came through the full 90 minutes in Rangers' Premiership opener against Livingston at the weekend, is one of those players.

The latest

The club's media partners Heart & Hand stated on Twitter that 'Ryan Kent didn't travel to Belgium'. They added that, while this match 'comes too soon for him', Rangers have indicated that 'it's not a serious injury'.

In better news for Van Bronckhorst, summer signings Ridvan Yilmaz and Ben Davies are 'in the squad' for tonight's clash.

The verdict

Even if it is a minor injury for Kent, this is definitely a blow to Rangers' hopes of progression.

The 25-year-old is arguably the leading creative force in the team, having registered a whopping 20 assists in all competitions last season, three more than net-best creator James Tavernier.

The ex-Liverpool forward is already off the mark in that department for 2022/23, having teed up Scott Arfield's equaliser against Livingston on Saturday. Indeed, his display at the Tony Macaroni Arena had Sky Sports and talkSPORT pundit Jamie O'Hara dubbing him a 'baller'.

If the £18,000-per-week winger is back for the second leg, perhaps he can swing the tie in Rangers' favour if they don't get the desired result tonight.