Crisis for Rangers boss Clement as injuries leave him short of defenders for Scottish Cup final

Philippe Clement is facing a defensive injury crisis ahead of Saturday’s Scottish Cup final against Celtic.

The Rangers manager is already missing influential figure Connor Goldson and will also have to field a team without John Souttar – while Ridvan Yilmaz is also a major doubt.

Although Leon Balogun has a chance to make an appearance, Borna Barisic is running out of time to prove he is ready.

The Croatian did not play against Hearts last week, while Tom Lawrence and Kemar Roofe also did not play at Tynecastle.

Clement had previously said he would wait until match day before making a decision on his team, but will now formulate his plan after today’s training.

“I have to see the training, that is the last moment to show that you are fit enough to play,” he said. ‘Otherwise you can’t participate if you haven’t trained all week.

Scottish defender John Souttar has been ruled out of the Hampden match for Rangers

Turkish full-back Ridvan Yilmaz has also proven to be a major doubt

‘Some things are clear, others are not. John will certainly not be available. Leon, there is a possibility.

‘Some players will train for the first time tomorrow. So there is no clarity about that for me at the moment.’

Yilmaz only recently returned to the team after a hamstring injury, but now looks set to miss the final after a setback.

If Barisic is not ready to return at left-back, the choice would remain between Dujon Sterling and Robbie Fraser.

Clement said of Yilmaz: “He came into my office with tears in his eyes to say that he felt something again, so we will see if we can get him fit for this cup final.”

John Lundstram is available again after suspension, although many Rangers fans believe he should not be selected again after his red card in the recent 2-1 defeat at Celtic Park ended the team’s last hope of winning the title.

“I will never decide what fans think because that is emotion and they don’t see training, they don’t know what the players are like,” Clement said.

‘I don’t have to answer that question about whether or not John should start. It’s about the decision I make together with my staff about what I see at training and have seen in recent months.’

Clement has had three attempts to beat Celtic but has managed just one point so far in a thrilling 3-3 draw at Ibrox in April.

In terms of his personal reputation, he knows the importance of his fourth game against Celtic cannot be overstated.

Borna Barisic may not be ready to make a return as a left-back at the Ibrox club just yet

Dujon Sterling could come into action at left back if Barisic or Yilmaz fail

Clement is yet to decide whether John Lundstram will play following his red card at Celtic Park

Although winning the famous old trophy is clearly the main theme of the day, the Belgian cannot afford to be known as a man who cannot get to grips with the biggest match on the card.

“Every cup final is important,” said the Belgian. ‘It’s winning a trophy, winning an award.

‘And I know the record of the Old Firms, so now is an opportunity to break the cycle that has been going on for too long.

“It’s an opportunity to seize that moment and seize those moments in the game. In the last Old Firm games we didn’t seize our moments. And of course we got two red cards – and they were justified, there is no discussion about that – and that was an important part of the story.

“So we have to be better at seizing the moments and, certainly, we have to be better at starting the game better.”

Even with a squad likely to be significantly below full strength, Clement remains optimistic. Although his team ultimately lost those two games at Celtic Park 2-1, he believes the fact they left their opponents sweating for points despite having a man sent off on each occasion suggests that every gap can be bridged during the day.

When asked what encouraged him, he said: ‘That we have always been close. In the two games we lost, the difference was only one goal. It’s not like we lost by a big margin.

“We were in the game until the last seconds, now it’s about taking advantage of these moments and being better than in those games. I want to see more quality from the team, whoever is on the field.

‘In these matches everything can be decided in a split second. So you have to be constantly on to win against every opponent in that game.’