Looking to make it two wins from two in the Europa League this season as they square off against Lyon, Rangers have been handed an early boost with one player now set to return from injury to feature against the French side.
Rangers injury news
To their credit, the Gers have finally found their form as of late, having initially endured a tough start to the season which featured a 3-0 thrashing courtesy of Old Firm rivals Celtic. Since that game, however, Philippe Clement’s side have been unbeaten in all competitions and extended that run last time out when they defeated Hibernian 1-0, courtesy of Tom Lawrence’s first-half effort.
Now, Clement’s attention must turn back towards the Europa League and arguably his side’s toughest test up against Ligue 1 Lyon. The French giants are no strangers to the European stage and enter the game with a point to prove after picking up just seven points from their first six Ligue 1 games so far this season.
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The Gers have been handed quite the boost ahead of that challenge, however. As confirmed by Clement and relayed by Ibrox News, Mohamed Diomande is expected to feature against Lyon on Thursday following his return to training. The midfielder missed the game against Hibs, but has since made a swift return to put himself in contention once again.
Clement revealed the news, telling reporters: “Diomande will be back in the squad for tomorrow, Ridvan is back in training but will not be available.”
Of course, the bad news is that Ridvan Yilmaz is not yet ready to feature, but he is at least on his way and back in training with the rest of his teammates. He’ll be forced to watch on once again though, as Diomande makes his return.
"Aggressive" Diomande is a key man under Clement
Getting Diomande back fit and ready to feature after just one game on the sidelines should be seen as an impressive success by those at Ibrox, who will no doubt reap the rewards for his swift return. The 22-year-old started four of his side’s first five Scottish Premiership games prior to the game against Hibs, for which he was sidelined, to highlight just how important he can be for Rangers.
Diomande has unsurprisingly earned plenty of praise during his time at Ibrox so far, including from podcaster John Walker, who dubbed the midfielder’s press “aggressive” and a “diamond”.
No matter Lyon’s start to their campaign in France, if Rangers can secure all three points against the Ligue 1 side, then they’ll earn deserved plaudits. Victory would of course see them go two from two in this season’s Europa League.