Kemar Roofe hands Rangers surprise boost but one 'serious doubt' emerges as duo ruled out of Sparta Prague clash

Rangers team news ahead of facing Sparta Prague in the Europa League on Thursday

Kemar Roofe trains with Rangers ahead of the Europa League match against Sparta Prague. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

Rangers striker Kemar Roofe is set to hand the side a major boost by returning to the squad for Thursday’s Europa League fixture against Sparta Prague.

The former Leeds and Anderlecht forward was pulled out of Rangers training and sent to see a specialist following the arrival of manager Philippe Clement last month in a bid to get to the bottom of the recurring injuries that have plagued his Ibrox career.

It was feared Roofe could be faced with further surgery and another extended spell on the sidelines but in a positive twist the 30-year-old will be brought back into the squad to face the Czechs, however, his minutes on the park will be limited as he rebuilds his match fitness.

“Kemar is available for selection although it is really, really early for him,” Clement confirmed. “That’s because you never know, for five or ten minutes, it won’t be more than that.

“We are missing quite a few players because they are not on the list or because of injury. We have to make pragmatic choices. I don’t like it, with Kemar having just trained, that we make him available for selection, but it’s necessary.

"We are trying to find a long term solution and a way of working with him. I have sent him to see somebody. I spoke with the medical staff and they agreed and we will see what the result is long term.

“I am not making big conclusions now. It is too early for that and we want to make him a player who is available for much longer.

“He is an important player for this club and we have paid a lot of money for him. It is also my duty to get the best out of every player. We will see in a few months if it (his injury trouble) is going to be over.”

Clement confirmed that the striker will not require an operation.

“No, it is not something you can solve with surgery. That will not be a solution,” the Rangers boss added. “I don’t want to go too much into it. I just hope we can make him ready because it is a problem that has been there for years and he has missed a lot of time, not only here but at other clubs.

“Because of that, we need a long term solution. I don’t want to go into too many details, because this is also private for the player.”

Clement also confirmed Nico Raskin and John Souttar will not feature again until after the international break while winger Scott Wright has emerged as a “serious doubt” after his goal-scoring substitute appearance in the Viaplay Cup semi-final win over Hearts on Sunday.

He added: “Scott Wright has a small muscle problem he felt in the last action of the game. It is not serious but one we can’t risk.”

Clement, who is still unbeaten after five games in charge of Rangers, also offered an update on Rabbi Matondo revealing the Wales winger has “trained for the first time with the group but is not ready for selection.”

Rangers can overtake Sparta Prague into one of the top two positions in Group C and give their hopes of reaching the knockout round a major boost with a victory at Ibrox on Thursday night. The sides battles out a goalless draw in the Czech capital a fortnight ago.

Clement added: “Sparta are a good team, good technically and with a good structure. It's a team and coach with a lot of ambition. We have to be at our highest level.”