Giovanni van Bronckhorst revealed that James Sands missed the St Johnstone game due to illness.
The US international was a noticeable omission from the squad on Saturday afternoon, with Ryan Kent also not involved. The latter was simply a precaution ahead of the massive contest against PSV on Tuesday evening and a sensible one at that.
In regard to Sands, the manager stated in the post-match press conference that he should be good to go for the Champions League Playoff having been ill over the last few days.
Gio says James Sands was ill yesterday which is why he missed out. However he has felt better today so should be fine for Tuesday.
— Heart & Hand Podcast (@ibroxrocks) August 13, 2022
In his place, Ben Davies came in to make his first competitive start in a blue shirt and he put in a decent performance despite not being tested too much. He did provide a better balance on the left side of the defence, complementing Connor Goldson on the right.
Looking ahead to the big game on Tuesday, it will be interesting to see if Gio sticks with Davies or if Sands will return having been tenacious and committed in recent games. Thankfully, some controversy was avoided last midweek when the Greek referee overturned his initial incorrect call to penalised the already booked Rangers defender, with the input of the linesman.
That course of action means that the American will return to the squad but like the rest of us, he will be waiting on the decision of GvB on the starting 11 to face Ruud van Nistelrooy’s team.
The emphatic 4-0 defeat of St Johnstone was ideal preparation for the upcoming game with the second half cutting edge providing a particular satifaction for all of a Rangers persuasion.