Stevie Clifford claims that Abdallah Sima might rejoin Rangers in time to play in the Old Firm match.On March 24, the Rangers Review columnist stated on the publication’s website that there is a “sneaking suspicion” that the wounded star of the Gers has a “outside chance” of participating in the match against Celtic on April 7. The star has been sidelined since suffering an injury while traveling for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Before then, the Brighton loanee had been a significant offensive force for Rangers, netting 15 goals in all competitions while other newcomers had found it difficult to settle in.
After the most recent loss to Benfica, Clifford questioned Philippe Clement about his status and was informed that the Senegal international is “progressing really well.” He hasn’t played since scoring in the 3-1 victory over Kilmarnock on January 2.
Clifford notes that it would be a “huge psychological boost” for the Light Blues to even have the 22-year-old on the bench, but he thinks there may be hope for him to return to the team for the derby at Ibrox in two weeks.
Rangers star Philippe Clement to return for Old Firm derby?
Sima’s return for the title run-in and potential Scottish Cup final would be a great development, but there hasn’t been much good injury news for Clement this season, and things have become worse after the international break.
In addition to Danilo’s ongoing injury, his absence limited the offensive options available. A testament to the unending selection problems at Ibrox is the fact that the team recruited Oscar Cortes as a replacement after he was ruled out, only to watch the young Colombian suffer a significant setback of his own.
It is astonishing that Clement has been able to keep the club on course given the problems Ross McCausland and Todd Cantwell have been having lately, not to mention Kemar Roofe’s ongoing troubles that have persisted for months.
After missing so many weeks of activity, Sima may need some time to regain his peak performance, but if he can perform at even somewhat of his prior level, it might be quite important for the title fight.
Rangers would greatly appreciate putting some distance between themselves and their rivals at this early stage, even though a draw with Celtic has been predicted to be sufficient to keep Clement’s team ahead in the Scottish Premiership. Clement needs to win the derby in order to avoid having the same problems as Michael Beale in that matchup.
The Gers would have a stronger chance of winning if Sima was involved, but the manager would undoubtedly not base his strategy on that likelihood.
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