Michael Beale has confirmed John Lundstram is 'touch and go' for the weekend as he roared: 'There are trophies to be won and players' futures to be decided'.
The Rangers boss takes his side to the Tony Macaroni Arena this weekend to face Livingston as he bids to maintain his unbeaten run since taking over from Giovanni van Bronckhorst. There is the added incentive of the League Cup Final against Celtic at Hampden next weekend as his players look to give him a selection headache with a top performance.
Influential midfielder Lundstram could return this weekend in a major boost to the midfield area while Nicolas Raskin and Ryan Jack will both be assessed due to picking up minor issues. A similar scenario is the reason behind Connor Goldson only making the bench in the Scottish Cup win over Partick Thistle last weekend.
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In a further boost, Beale is hopeful Tom Lawrence will be back on the training field in a matter of weeks, although he was coy to put a timescale on a return to action.
Speaking to the media, he said: "[John] Lundstram touch and go for the weekend, [Connor] Goldson had a small issue and that is why didn't start last week.
"[Nicolas] Raskin had some minor issues after the game, Jack had a minor issue also. We will see how we go after training tomorrow. We still have a strong squad available.
"[Tom] Lawrence is a player I have been impressed with in the past.
"Unfortunately, he suffered a long-term injury and he is someone I am really excited to work on when he returns.We are hopeful he returns to training in a few weeks, there is no exact timeline on this one."
He added: "Malik [Tillman] is doing fine, there was a lot of emotion in the game at the weekend.
"Raskin had a fantastic assist in his first match, it was a nice first impression for the home fans. He [Raskin] just felt a bit of fatigue after the weekend, we took no risks with him and he will return to training tomorrow. I was delighted for [Antonio] Colak to get the goal as he has had a tough time recently.
"There is a huge amount of competition for places at the moment, which is why I was a little bit disappointed with the first-half last week. The squad need to earn the shirt in training every day in addition to matches.
"There is a lot to play for at this moment in time, we know the emotion in this city and the importance of trophies. We have had to win every game in front of us, we have a big away game coming up and then a cup final - we have to focus on the games in front of us."
Looking back at things since his arrival and what is on the horizon, he added: "We are in a good place compared to where we were a couple of months ago. There are trophies to be won and players' futures to be decided."
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