Ridvan Yilmaz’s Rangers tears as Philippe Clement details injury ahead of final

Philippe Clement says Ridvan Yilmaz was in tears as the Turkish left-back added to Rangers’ injury crisis.

The Light Blues could be without several first-team stars for tomorrow’s Old Firm Scottish Cup Final showdown. Defenders Connor Goldson and John Souttar are out, while Yilmaz, Borna Barisic, Leon Balogun and Tom Lawrence face late fitness tests.

Yilmaz has only recently returned from a long-term injury but suffered another setback after picking up a knock in the final minutes of last weekend’s 3-3 draw with Hearts. Ibrox boss Clement will give the defender and the rest of his walking wounded until the end of today to prove their fitness.

He said: “At the end of the game, at that moment I didn’t know Ridvan had hurt himself again. He came into my office the next day with tears in his eyes that he felt something again, so we are going to see if we get him fit for this Cup Final.

“Souttar for sure won’t be available. With Leon, there is a possibility. I’m not a doctor, so we can’t speak about injections, but all the players want to play in this game. Some want to go really on the edge to be there, to play that game.

“So we are going to need to make smart decisions without taking too much risk. I need to see training tomorrow. That is the final moment to show that you are fit enough to play some minutes.

“Otherwise, if you didn’t train all week, then it’s impossible to play some minutes in the game. I’ve never encountered a situation like this and I never want to see it again.

“We are busy within the club to make a good evaluation, with people inside the club, with me and with people outside to solve it for next season. We are pretty far in that.”