Giovanni van Bronckhorst is facing a defensive crisis ahead of playing Hearts and Liverpool which could see Ben Davies forced into action.
James Sands has been Connor Goldson’s most regular partner in the centre of defence but his red card against Napoli means that he won’t be available at Anfield.
With Sicknote Souttar AWOL and Filip Helander injured and left out of the UEFA squad Leon King was played ahead of Davies against Napoli and Dundee United but now the Murray Park starlet is also crocked:
The Express reports:
Leon King, who has been a deputy for Sands, pulled out of Scotland’s under-21 game with Northern Ireland – which they won 3-1 – with a knock to add to the difficulties van Bronckhorst already faces as Fil Helander is nowhere near ready to return and there is a mystery over John Souttar who has not been seen since the beginning of the season.
There now seems to be a race against time to get Ben Davies up to speed. He was on the bench in Rangers’ last outing against Dundee United but is severely lacking in game time.
The July signing of Davies was heralded as another stunning scoop after Celtic had missed out on the defender last January but his dream move to Liverpool simply resulted in an unimpressive season on loan at Sheffield United.
So far Davies has started a home match against St Johnstone and made late substitute appearances home and away against Union SG. At £4m and a substantial post-Liverpool wage he looks like another costly mistake.
If King is ruled out either Davies or John Lundstram will have to face up to the Liverpool attack that put nine past Bournemouth earlier this season.
