Philippe Clement 'not happy' as Rangers boss reacts to impending Ibrox departure

Rangers will be without key player for number of weeks due to Africa Cup of Nations

Rangers' Abdallah Sima and manager Philippe Clement. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

Rangers manager Philippe Clement admits he is unhappy to lose Abdallah Sima for a number of weeks following his call-up to the Senegal squad for the Africa Cup of Nations. The Brighton loanee has been selected for his country following an impressive first half of the season at Ibrox and will join up with his teammates following the match against Kilmarnock on January 2.

The 22-year-old could miss up to five games if the reigning AFCON champions repeat their run to the final of 2021, with the tournament held in Ivory Coast set to run from January 13 to February 11. During that period, Clement's men face three consecutive away trips to Dumbarton, Hibs and St Mirren, before hosting Livingston and Aberdeen back-to-back at Ibrox. Sima has scored 14 goals in 31 matches since arriving on loan in the summer and Clement's reaction to his call-up spoke volumes over how big a loss the attacker will be for his side.

The Rangers boss, a former Belgium defender, said: “No, I’m not happy that he’s selected but I understand. I’ve been an international myself and it was a great honour to play for my country. I was always really proud every time it happened so I understand that it’s really important for the players. We had talks with the federation and we made an agreement that he has to leave on January 3 so he’s still available for January 2.”

Sima will hope to add to his four caps when Senegal start their group campaign against Gambia on January 15 before facing Cameroon on January 19 and Guinea on January 23. Rangers teammate Cyriel Dessers has also been named in the provisional squad for Nigeria.