Rangers have been dealt a hammer blow after Ianis Hagi was ruled out for the SEASON.
The Romanian star went off with a knee injury early in the Scottish Cup fourth round win over Stirling Albion.
And Giovanni van Bronckhorst revealed the former Genk midfielder won’t be available for the rest of the campaign after going under the knife.
It comes at a crucial time in the season with the title race hotting up and Van Bronckhorst said: “Ianis needed an operation.
“He went for this yesterday and we will sadly be missing Ianis for the season. I spoke to Ianis yesterday and he is positive and focused on his recovery.”
There is better news with the return of Joe Aribo who is making his way back from AFCON and while he won’t be available for the visit if Livingston on Wednesday, he should make the weekend trip to Ross County.
Van Bronckhorst said: “Joe Aribo is travelling back today and will be back in Glasgow tonight. We will assess him on his return, he will be back for sure come the weekend.
“We expect a tough 90 minutes against Livingston. They have shown they can be very hard to beat. A god team who can keep it compact. We have to be in our top game to get the three points.”
Meanwhile, the Ibrox boss - preparing for the visit of Livingston on Wednesday - insists every refereeing decision must be scrutinised to ensure they improve.
The Rangers boss says the men in black are no different from managers, players and coaches after the club highlighted eight decisions made by Kevin Clancy in the 1-1 draw at Pittodrie.
He said: “It is important to review all decisions after a game, we do this as players and coaches and it’s the same for referees.
“It is important to review your performance to help improve, we do it as players and coaches.”
