Rangers senior player misses training and is pulled from media duties before Celtic clash – report

Thu 8 March 2018 20:01, UK

Rangers defender Russell Martin missed training on Thursday and could be set to miss the Old Firm clash with Celtic on Sunday, according to a report.

The Scottish Sun claim the 32-year-old senior player didn’t take any part of training and was pulled from his media duties by the Ibrox giants after reports 24 hours had claimed he was – and then wasn’t – injured.

Martin sat out the weekend win over Falkirk in the Scottish Cup with Bruno Alves partnering David Bates in central defence and it could be the same pairing again when the Gers face their bitter rivals at Ibrox on Sunday.

A win for Graeme Murty’s side would see them close the gap to Celtic to three points at the top of the Scottish Premiership and blow the title race wide open.

The Gers were widely written off earlier this season but could now be set to pull off a remarkable turnaround and snatch the league title from their city rivals.

Martin has been a mainstay in the starting XI since his arrival on a season-long loan from Norwich City with the Scotland international and former Raith Rovers youngster Bates keeping Euro 2016 winner Alves on the bench.

Football Insider verdict:

Losing Martin would be a big blow for the Gers but having Bruno Alves ready to step in means it shouldn’t be a big drama for Murty’s side if the on-loan Norwich defender does miss out. With capable replacemens available it also means Murty isn’t forced into playing a half-fit central defender and risking his side’s chances of taking three points and mounting a title challenge. Bizarrely, if Bates was the one who was injured, Rangers fans would likely have been more concerned than if 96-times Portuguese international Alves or 100-plus Premier League appearances Martin missed out.