Ridvan Yilmaz injury blow as Rangers star out for rest of season
Rangers have been dealt a huge injury blow after Barry Ferguson confirmed that defender Ridvan Yilmaz is out for the rest of the season. The Turkey international limped off after 23 minutes in the Europa League quarter final defeat to Athletic Bilbao earlier this month and Ferguson has now revealed that he won't kick a ball again in the final five post-split fixtures in the campaign, starting with St Mirren in Paisley on Saturday. The interim boss also confirmed that fellow crocked stars Dujon Sterling and Tom Lawrence are still facing a long spell on the sidelines, with centre back Leon Balogun will also be missing against the Buddies. He said: "Balogun is out, Ridvan is out, Sterling is out for a long period of time, Tom Lawrence is still out and there are one or two that only did parts of training yesterday." With Celtic on the verge of sealing sealing a fourth straight league title and with Gers out of all cup competitions, there isn't too much left to play for in the final weeks of the campaign. But Ferguson insists he is demanding his team give it everything in their last five games to finish the campaign on a high. He added: "I gave the team a few days off to reflect on a disappointing night (in Bilbao) - but this week has been positive. I have given them a challenge, we have five games to go and I want them to pick up every point that is available. "I have got five games left to go and my focus is on this - there have been bumps since coming in and I'm not frightened of that. This is my club and this is an opportunity I thought I would never get - it has been a brilliant experience and I enjoy the challenge." Follow Record Sport on Twitter , Facebook and Instagram for all of the up-to-the minute breaking news, video and audio on the SPFL, the Scotland national team and beyond. You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers and Celtic pages, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season. We're also on WhatsApp where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to you phone. Join our Rangers community here and our Celtic community here . Tune in to Hotline Live every Sunday to Thursday and have your say on the biggest issues in Scottish football and listen to Record Sport's newest podcast, Game On , every Friday for your sporting fix, all in bitesize chunks.
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Reuters
an hour ago
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