Michael Beale has revealed NONE of his injury doubts have returned to training ahead of the Viaplay Cup Final which means Malik Tillman, John Lundstram and Ryan Jack could all be unlikely to feature against Celtic at Hampden.
The trio missed the win over Livingston at the weekend and Beale reckons the team that takes to the field at the National Stadium will be similar to the one that started the 3-0 win in west Lothian. Tillman will be the biggest blow if he fails to make it. Following an impressive run of form, the 20-year-old was missing from the Scottish Premiership showdown against the Lions with Beale saying the USA international had a problem with his "calf and hamstring". That sparked major fears over his fitness going into the blockbuster Hampden showpiece. And at his official press conference, where he sat side by side with rival Ange Postecoglou at Hampden, ahead of the game Beale noted that John Lundstram and Ryan Jack could also miss the derby at the national stadium.
Scott Arfield was also pushing for a return to the squad ahead of Sunday's fixture. Ahead of the Celtic clash, the Ibrox boss Beale said: “There’s no positive news right now. Nobody has returned to training yet. The team from the weekend will be very close tot he team this weekend. If we get one or two additions back that will be a bonus.
“Only if I thought they would get through it (when asked about gambling on players). It's a final and I think we live in a fantasy world if we think players lace up every week in a fantastic physical condition. It's a final against a big rival so I have 100% faith one or two will declare themselves fit around Friday or Saturday. Whether they are 100% fit, I will need to make a choice on that. This is why you build a squad.
"Scott Arfield has a calf problem and been out the last few weeks. Hopefully he will return to training at the end of the week. Kemar Roofe is not in his best place physically but he only needs one moment to impact a game. (Nicolas) Raskin will have to show all his qualities. Todd (Cantwell) and Nico (Raskin) are the type of impressive young men I want to build this club around and go on a long journey with."
“Michael Beale was promoting Viaplay’s exclusively live coverage of the Viaplay Cup Final between Rangers and Celtic on Sunday from 2pm. Viaplay is available to stream from viaplay.com or via your TV provider on Sky, Virgin TV and Amazon Prime as an add-on subscription.
Follow Record Sport on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for all of the up-to-the minute breaking news, video and audio on the SPFL, the Scotland national team and beyond.
You can also follow our dedicated Rangers and Celtic podcast pages and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season.
READ NEXT
