Martin expects Souttar to be fit for Panathinaikos tie
Rangers manager Russell Martin expects John Souttar to be fit for the Champions League qualifier against Panathinaikos after the defender had a "minor operation".Souttar reportedly delayed the hernia surgery, external so he could feature for Scotland in their end-of-season friendly double-header. The 28-year-old started the defeat by against Iceland and was an unused substitute in the win over Liechtenstien.Rangers host Panathinaikos in a second-round qualifier on 22-23 July, with the return leg in Greece the following week."John made a decision. He had a bit of minor injury, he wanted to go and play because he's desperate to play for his country which I admire," Martin told Sky Sports."So the plan was here, and everyone was aware of it, to get sorted after that so he has had a minor operation."We expect him to be fit for the Panathinaikos game so it hasn't really affected preparations."Rangers open the league season with a trip to face Motherwell and Martin said: "It's [a win] really important for us, for the supporters, for the club, but also it's not going to define our season."So we have to make sure that we are ready to perform in the European game before that, we have to make sure we're then ready again to go."We have a lot of work to do physically and tactically. The players haven't even been in the building yet, they come back on Monday which I'm really excited about, but now we have something to really work towards and it's going to be great."Motherwell's new boss Jens Berthel Askou is a former Norwich City team-mate of Martin."We've exchanged messages this morning," said Martin."Knowing Jens and how intense he was about his work as a player and how he is as a person, seriously professional, intelligent, he'll have them very well organised and prepared so we have to make sure we are ready for any challenge."
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