Gio van Bronckhorst insists he had no choice over the “difficult decision” which forced Rangers to fly out to Germany without Filip Helander.
The Dutchman is set to welcome Ryan Jack back for tonight’s Europa League last 16 showdown against Borussia Dortmund but faces another defensive quandary at the Westfalenstadion after Leon Balogun was ruled out.
And fit-again Helander will play no part either against the Bundesliga giants having being left out of Van Bronckhorst ’s Euro squad.
The big Swede made his return from a five month knee injury lay-off on Saturday as he got through an hour of Gers’ Scottish Cup stroll over League Two minnows Annan.
But Van Bronckhorst had already been forced to submit his squad to UEFA long before Helander survived his Galabank comeback.
The Ibrox boss said: “Filip is not in our squad. We have limited spaces unfortunately to get players registered.
“So for me to put Helander out was a difficult decision because he is a very important player for us.
“But he only played his first 60 minutes after so many months so he is not in the squad."
The timing of Balogun’s hamstring tear - sustained during last week’s win over Hibs - could not be much worse as he prepares for the Scottish champions’ biggest continental test in a decade.
While Helander has been left at home, Berlin-born Nigeria international Balogun was on a flight to Germany on Tuesday as he travelled to Munich for further checks.
But van Bronckhorst admits he will now have to wait for next week’s second leg to make his return to action.
Speaking before jetting out to North Rhine-Westphalia yesterday, he said: “Leon is not available for tomorrow.
"Hopefully he will be available for next week.
"Ryan Jack trained as normal the last couple of days so he is fit to come with us to Germany.”
Dortmund have their own injury concerns with superstar striker Erling Haaland a major doubt to face Gers.
The Norwegian ace has banged in 79 goals in 80 games for Der BVB but thigh muscle issues have rendered him a spectator for the past three weeks.
And Van Bronckhorst is hoping he will again be sat in amongst a scaled-back crowd of just 10000 at the Westfalenstadion.
“No doubt everyone recognises the talent he has and the player he is,” said Gio. “He is one of the top strikers in the world.
“For us it’s a case of also preparing for the game without him. Dortmund have been playing without him for weeks so for me it’s about preparing the players for the opposition we will face and the quality of the players.
“It looks like he is almost back to play but everyone recognises his talent.
“We have to prepare the game for the players we will face and it looks like he won’t be in the squad tomorrow. If he is, we have to prepare as well. The quality he has, there is no doubt he is a good player.”
Meanwhile, Van Bronckhorst revealed he is hoping Gers will soon get around to opening contract talks with Joe Aribo and Ryan Kent, who will both enter the final 12 months of their current deals this summer.
“I haven’t spoken to them about extending their contracts or new talks,” he said. “That’s something the club will do in the near future.
“We must make sure we have the future well planned.
“Of course these are players who are very important for our team, so the talks will begin.
“The players with these qualities you want to have as long as possible at your club.”
