Rangers news: Medical expert reveals if John Lundstram will be fit for Braga showdown
It is unlikely that Rangers star John Lundstram will be fit for Thursday’s (14 April) crucial Europa League clash against Braga.
That is the view of injury expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in medicine and data analysis.
Lundstram, 28, limped off after half-an-hour during Rangers’ 4-0 victory at St Mirren last Sunday (10 April).
As quoted by the Daily Record yesterday (11 April), Giovanni van Bronckhorst revealed that the midfielder has tweaked his groin.
Rangers must overturn a 1-0 deficit against Braga at Ibrox if they are to progress to the last four in the Europa League.
But Dinnery predicts that the Glasgow giants will be without the instrumental Lundstram for the seond leg.
“With any muscular tweak, it’s always going to be a push to make a four-day turnaround,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“Given the dynamic nature of the game when we’re talking about the groin, it is being put under high intensity.
“You have got two massive fixtures coming up, so it will be a blow.
“For a player forced off with a muscle problem, I would usually default to saying that the likelihood is that the turnaround will be too quick.
“Even if it was just a precaution, you’re risking a serious setback if he is involved against Braga.
“Players need to train ahead of a game before a coach can even make a decision about their involvement.
“Given his importance to the team, you could gamble. But would he be at 100 per cent? Highly unlikely.“
Rangers also face Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-final on Sunday (17 April).
Lundstram has scored three times and supplied one assist in 40 appearnaces this term.
In other news, Rangers offer Alex Lowry £5,000-a-week as new talks lined up.