Giovanni van Bronckhorst has confirmed that Rabbi Matondo will not make the squad for the Premiership opener at Livingston tomorrow.
The Welsh international featured last Saturday against Tottenham Hotspur but was noticeably absent at the Ibrox training day on Monday.
Now as revealed from the initial soundings from the press conference ahead of the curtain raiser for the competitive season, one of the key signings of the Summer will not be with the team in West Lothian.
It could be that it is a case of taking a precaution ahead of the very important Champions League qualifier in Belgium against Union Saint-Gilloise on Tuesday.
🎙️ GVB: Roofe is not in the squad for tomorrow, Lowry is back training to pick up fitness. Matondo will miss out tomorrow.
Kemar is back on the pitch now so hopefully back involved in the coming weeks.
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) July 29, 2022
Matondo missing out creates an opportunity for another player so it is likely that Scott Wright will get the nod on the right wing of Rangers attack, with a few others close behind, knocking on the door.
The former Aberdeen player finished the season strongly including his fine goal in the Scottish Cup Final, but now faces increased competition following the new arrivals in this window.
Malik Tillman would be a possibility to play off the right although he is more effective centrally but he is likely to start on the bench. Tom Lawrence is strongly fancied to be the ’10’, playing behind Antonio Colak in attack tomorrow.
The starting line-up will be an interesting mix of the tried and tested as well as the new signings already mentioned, in what should be a positive start for Rangers with the three points essential.
Full details from the press conference are set to follow a bit later this afternoon.