Ryan Kent has been declared fit for Rangers’ do-or-die Champions League clash with Union Saint-Gilloise at Ibrox. The 25-year-old former Liverpool man missed the 2-0 first leg defeat in Belgium and was absent again for Saturday’s victory over Kilmarnock.
But Giovanni van Bronckhorst has been given a massive boost ahead of the match after revealing that Kent IS available. The Dutchman’s side are trailing 2-0 from the first leg in Belgium and must do something they have never managed in their history by overturning a two-goal first leg deficit in Europe. Union Saint-Gilloise slumped to a 3-0 domestic defeat against Mechelen at the weekend and Gers will be looking to pile on the misery.
And Kent can play his part. Van Bronckhorst said: “Ryan Kent is in the squad, as is Fashion Jnr. Ryan, we will assess tomorrow and see his fitness level if he can get minutes. It is very positive for me that he was on the pitch today. We still have 24 hours. He is a player who, if he is fit to play, I will have a lot of thinking in my mind. He is a player who can be the difference. He is in the squad and for me it is a sign that if he is fit we want to use him as well. (Alfredo) Morelos is progressing well after getting minutes at the weekend. He has been a little bit longer with us training and also had his first minutes for the season on Saturday so he's there to take part in the game. If it's from the start, we also have to assess him tomorrow.
"We want to stay in the Champions League. The first game wasn't the results we wanted but we have a home game tomorrow that we can change the result. My objective and desire is to be in the Champions League again next week. Last week is not our normal level in Europe, our standards and performance have to be on a high level tomorrow. We started the league with two wins which is important. We have a big squad with new additions and it can take some time to get familiar with each other. I can see the development of the squad adapting to our playing style."
Van Bronckhorst hopes the fans can play their part on what could be another epic Euro night. He said: "When we play home games the atmosphere is fantastic. I am sure it will be the same tomorrow. We have to make sure our performance is better than last week to help create an atmosphere that makes it difficult for the visiting team.
"We always have confidence no matter who we face at home. Last year we had to recover from defeats in the knockout stages and we are familiar with this situation. We aim to have a good start, we want to score goals but we also have to stay organised. The balance is everything."
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