Russell Martin stung by mindboggling Rangers setback as John Souttar races to be fit for Champions League clash

Daily Record

4 hours ago

The Scotland defender could be unavailable for selection ahead of Panathinaikos' trip to Glasgow next month
John Souttar is racing to be fit in time for next month's Champions League clash with Panathinaikos after delaying summer surgery to team up with the Scotland squad.
Record Sport understands the 28-year-old went under the knife in London last week to have an ongoing hernia issue fixed after returning to the UK following a friendly international double header against Iceland and Liechtenstein.
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But he is now up against the clock with little over one month to go before the Greeks arrive in Glasgow for the first leg of a multi-million pound qualification showdown at Ibrox.
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And the news will have come as an unwelcome surprise for new Rangers boss Russell Martin who may want to know why the club's medical team allowed his key centre half to put off the surgery for three full weeks in the first place.
Martin is hoping for his recruitment team to oversee a huge rebuild over the summer but the clock is already ticking down towards his first game in charge with a £60million plus UEFA jackpot on the line.
And he'll be desperately short of dependable defensive cover if it transpires that Souttar is unavailable for selection.
Souttar could have been operated on following the last league game of last season against Hibs at Easter Road on May 17.
But, instead, just two days after that 2-2 draw, he was named in Steve Clarke's squad and given the green light to join up with Scotland on June 3 to begin preparations for the visit from Iceland on Friday June 6.
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Souttar scored and played the full 90 minutes of that Friday night 3-1 defeat before boarding the team charter flight to Vaduz on Sunday ahead of a 4-0 win over minnows Liechtenstein on Monday, June 9.
He was left on Clarke's bench throughout that meaningless romp as an unused sub.
Souttar then travelled to London for what is described as a bout of routine repair work and is believed to have been rehabilitating in Portugal over the last few days.
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Martin's squad will begin returning to the club's Auchenhowie HQ on Monday morning to start pre-season work under the recently appointed head coach.
Souttar would have been granted more time off following his end of season exertions with the national team but is now unlikely to be given the all clear to begin training again for at least three further weeks, assuming he encounters no unexpected setbacks in his recovery.
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Ideally, medical experts set aside a period of between four to six weeks in order for players to return to full fitness from hernia operations.
Martin's Rangers tenure will kick off in five weeks from today with the first leg of a crucial qualification double header against Panathinaikos.
Souttar joined Rangers in 2022 from Hearts after recovering from two potentially career-threatening injuries.
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He made his debut against Livingston at the end of July but spent the following seven months on the sidelines before returning to action and has managed 64 top team appearances in his three years at the club.
Souttar and Leon Balogun were the dual defensive mainstays for interim manager Barry Ferguson during the final few months of the season.
But veteran Balogun said his farewells and moved on as a free agent at the end of the campaign having not received the offer of a new contract.
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That means the only fit recognised centre backs currently at Martin's disposal are Robin Propper, Clinton Nsiala, Ben Davies and Leon King.
Propper is on the brink of a return to Holland after just one season in Scotland having agreed terms with FC Twente. Nsiala was used fleetingly as a fringe man during his own difficult first campaign at Ibrox.
And Davies and King were farmed out on loan to Birmingham and Queens Park respectively after falling out of the first team picture.
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