Rangers star to miss Scottish Cup but return date revealed - Colak, Roofe, Souttar, Lawrence, Yilmaz latest

Rangers will be without midfielder John Lundstram for Sunday’s Scottish Cup meeting with Partick Thistle.

Michael Beale's men host the Championship side in the fifth round of the tournament but will have to make do without the influential Lundstram as well as a number of other first-team stars. The 28-year-old lasted just 11 minutes of the recent win in the Premiership over Ross County.

Beale is hopeful he will have the player back for the club’s next league outing ahead of the Viaplay Cup final with Celtic. "Lundstram won't be available this weekend and should hopefully be back for the Livingston game,” he said. “He took a sore one on his ankle. He will definitely be back for the final at the end of the month.”

The Rangers boss declared himself “delighted” with his squad with a number of injured stars progressing in their recovery, including Ianis Hagi, John Souttar, Tom Lawrence and Ridvan Yilmaz. In the coming weeks Beale could have a raft of options to choose from.

“Kemar Roofe is back in training, Hagi has had an extra week of training," he said. “Kemar is looking sharp, hopefully, he can get a run of good health now. Souttar and Lawrence are working hard and doing individual work at the moment.

“Ridvan will be about another three weeks and I am looking forward to working with him when he returns to full training. We have a top left-back in Barisic and one for the future in Ridvan. He is a different type of attacking full-back, it's a great blend to have this along with Barisic and his fantastic delivery into the box.”

Meanwhile, Antonio Colak is expected to start against Thistle, who have lost three of their last four Championship games, including surprise home defeats to Hamilton Academical and Cove Rangers. The Croatian striker has started just once since the World Cup break due to injury. With Ryan Kent, Alfredo Morelos and Fashion Sakala having built a good understanding in attack, Colak has been reduced to substitute appearances.

“This is definitely an opportunity for Colak to play, he has looked very strong in training this week," Beale said.