Rangers left-back options examined as Philippe Clement hit with Sparta Prague selection crisis

New Rangers manager Philippe Clement is facing a potential injury crisis in the left-back position ahead of his first European fixture in charge.

Rangers left-back Borna Barisic was forced off with an injury during the weekend win over Hibs. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)

First choice Borna Barisic has reportedly missed training ahead of the Europa League trip to Sparta Prague and looks unlikely to recover from the knock picked up in the weekend win over Hibs in time, while his replacement in that match, Ridvan Yilmaz, is not registered in Rangers’ European squad.

Right-back Dujon Sterling has been utilised as an emergency left-back already this season but, according to reports, he too was posted absent from Rangers training on Wednesday morning and now looks set to join Barisic and Yilmaz in sitting out Thurdsay’s match in the Czech capital.

That situation would leave Clement facing a major decision in just his second match in charge with the prospect of left-footed centre-back Ben Davies moving across to cover the position or 20-year-old Adam Devine, a natural right-back, being pitched in for his European debut in an unfamiliar role.

While 28-year-old Davies would provide much-needed experience in what promises to be a tricky fixture at a hostile venue, moving him into a wide area away from his natural central position could see him exposed.

Devine meanwhile has no European experience to call upon, but has shown a lot of promise in his 11 Rangers first-team appearances thus far, including five starts, but switching him from his natural right side to the left would be a big ask of the youngster in such a crucial fixture.

Clement could move James Tavernier to the left, which would allow Devine to feature in his favoured position, but given how important the Rangers captain has been in Europe over his Ibrox career as an attacking right-back, it would seem inadvised to tinker with this area and potentially weaken the side in both full-back areas.

If looking for a more natural left-back replacement, Clement could call up Robbie Fraser from the Rangers B team. The 20-year-old has only had a brief taste of first-team action in a 3-0 friendly win over Bayer Leverkusen last December and was also named on the bench in the Champions League last season.

Handing Fraser his senior debut would be a brave call for Clement but one which would bring balance to the left-side of the defence.

While the left-back issue is a major concern Rangers have been boosted by the return to fitness of Todd Cantwell, Ryan Jack, Kemar Roofe and Danilo, with Cantwell and Danilo making their comebacks as second half substitutes in the 4-0 win over Hibs in Clement's first match in charge.

Jose Cifuentes returned from international duty with Ecuador with a knock and Tom Lawrence (calf) and Rabbi Matondo (knee) remain out.

The match against the Czech champions is an important one for Rangers as they look to bounce back from the disappointing 2-1 defeat to Aris Limassol in Cyprus last month under interim manager Steven Davis.

Rangers are tied on three points with the other three sides in Group C after two matches played following their 1-0 win over Real Betis in the opening round of fixtures. Sparta Prague followed up a 3-2 home win over Aris Limassol with a 2-1 defeat away to Real Betis.