Rangers reveal significant injury lift and detail areas of improvement against Kilmarnock

Rangers will have Alfredo Morelos back in contention as Giovanni van Bronckhorst seeks improvements from their European let-down in Belgium when Kilmarnock visit Ibrox on league duty this Saturday.

The Colombian striker has been missing since March after picking up a thigh injury on international duty but will make a welcome return to action with his team seeking goals to keep their cinch Premiership campaign, and Champions League hopes, on track.

Morelos is eligible for the midweek second leg with Union Saint-Gilloise, which Rangers trail 2-0 on aggregate, having been included in the club’s UEFA team list for the qualifying rounds, and is in line for some competitive action for the first time after five months out.

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"We’re looking good,” said van Bronckhorst of his team’s preparations. "The biggest change will be Alfredo in the squad. He has been training really hard with the team over the last few weeks so we think he is ready to be in the squad and hopefully play some minutes as well.”

The return of the striker, complete with freshly bleached hair, is a certain positive from a disappointing week at Ibrox following the 2-0 defeat in Belgium. Van Bronckhorst has pinpointed the areas where his team malfunctioned on Tuesday and left their Champions League hopes teetering.

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He is seeking an immediate reaction to re-dress their deficiencies against Kilmarnock before the Belgian Jupiler Pro League runners-up arrive in Glasgow.

"The first emotion I had after the [Union] game was disappointment,” he admitted. “When we analysed it with the players we all felt the same – disappointed in the performance and the desire and hunger to turn it around. That starts against Kilmarnock.

Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“We have prepared well for this game. Our improvement point has to be when we are on the ball – to improve what we didn’t do well on Tuesday.

"We have to improve against Kilmarnock - our positions, our speed of play, our movement and the runs, creating chances. Those are the areas we have to improve [on Saturday].

“Kilmarnock will make things difficult, like all teams in Scotland can, but I’m confident if we reach the levels and standards I expect from my players we should be fine.

“Every game at home game is exciting and we switch from European football to domestic football.

Alfredo Morelos is back in Rangers contention this weekend.Alfredo Morelos is back in Rangers contention this weekend.
Alfredo Morelos is back in Rangers contention this weekend.
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“We started the league well with a win against Livingston and we have another opportunity for three points tomorrow.”

Van Bronckhorst is also looking forward to seeing Killie boss Derek McInnes, a former Ibrox teammate at the end of last century.

The former Arsenal, Barcelona and Netherlands player said: “Derek McInnes is doing a lovely job at Kilmarnock.

“I know him personally, I played with him and it is always nice to see your ex-teammates go into management as well.

“He was a great midfield player, very comfortable on the ball and you always see a little bit of the manager’s style of play in his teams.

“He took Kilmarnock from the Championship to the Premiership so it was a great year for him.

“They started the league reasonably well last week with a draw against Dundee United so good to see him back.”

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