Page 83 of the print edition of the newspaper announced on Thursday, March 14th, that McCausland, 20, and Dujon Sterling will not be available for the Gers’ round-of-16 match against the Portuguese powerhouses due to Philippe Clement’s injury.
Clement stated that while McCausland, the star player for the Northern Ireland, was doubtful after skipping practice this week, he did confirm Sterling’s absence.
McCausland will be absent from the game in Govan, along with Danilo, Oscar Cortes, Alex Lowry, Kieran Dowell, Sterling, and Abdallah Sima, according to the Scottish Daily Mail.
Benfica and Rangers will square off in their round-of-16 match at 5:45 p.m. at Ibrox. TNT Sports will cover the match live.
The Light Blues’ success in Europe over the past few seasons appears to be continuing under Clement’s direction, so it should be an intriguing encounter.
The Gers may have the advantage in Glasgow on Thursday after Clement led an outstanding 2-2 draw in Portugal during the first leg.
Remember, the away goals rule is no longer in effect so if Rangers want to win against Benfica, they will have to outscore them either in the 90 minutes, after extra-time or in a penalty shoot-out.
McCausland, a young player from Antrim who has been so impressive for Rangers this season—scoring three goals and dishing out four assists in 33 games across all competitions—will be missed.
But since he was limited to one minute of the first leg in Lisbon last week, the Gers have already shown they are capable of winning even without the youthful striker.
Read more on sportchannel.co.uk
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