Steve Clarke sweating on fitness of Rangers star after Scotland update

One Rangers star has left his national team boss sweating on his fitness over the upcoming international break, with question marks placed over his position in the squad for EURO 2024.

Rangers stars heading on international duty

Six of Rangers‘ squad are heading off on International duty this March – Rabbi Matondo (Wales), Ross McCausland (Northern Ireland), John Souttar (Scotland), Cryriel Dessers (Nigeria) and Mohamed Diomande (Ghana) will be representing their senior sides, while Leon King has also been called up for Scotland’s U21s.

It means that Gers boss Philippe Clement will have the majority of his squad at Ibrox as he looks to continue their push for the Scottish Premiership title, knowing that should they win their game in hand against Dundee they will move back above Celtic into top spot, while they also have to welcome their arch rivals to Ibrox before the end of the campaign.

One man who hasn’t headed away is regular absentee Ryan Jack, who has already missed large chunks of the season through injury for his club and continues to struggle with fitness problems.

Decision made on Ryan Jack

Despite these problems, Steve Clarke has decided to consider him for the Scotland squad this summer, providing he can prove his fitness before the squad is announced, which is perhaps good news for Gers fans hoping to see him back before the end of the domestic season.

The 32-year-old has managed just 11 Scottish Premiership appearances this campaign, and though he returned to the substitutes bench in their most recent outing (a 2-1 defeat to Motherwell) he has seen just 13 minutes of action since the beginning of February.

Rangers boss Clement has hardly been forthcoming about his situation either. Speaking ahead of his side’s clash with Hibs, Clement explained that: “We lost Ryan Jack for a short time. He picked up a small injury in the trip to Lisbon so that’s a big disappointment because I was planning to start with him today, so we had to change our plans.”

That has not changed Clarke’s stance though. According to The Scottish Daily Mail, Jack will be handed the chance to ‘prove his fitness’ to the Scotland boss, though in exchange Clarke will demand ‘honesty and transparency’ from his midfielder.

Though the midfielder is set to miss the upcoming friendlies against the Netherlands and Northern Ireland, he is hoping to be back fit after the international break and will aim to remain so heading into EURO 2024 this summer. Should he be able to ‘prove his fitness, his ability, and whether he can play consistent minutes’, he will have an ‘excellent chance’ at remaining in the Scotland squad for the tournament, which implies we should see him play a part in the title run-in.

His future beyond this summer is unclear though, with his contract up at Rangers come the end of the campaign and without a new deal in the works as things stand. For now though, his full focus will be on heading to the EUROs with Scotland in three months time.