Glasgow Rangers claimed a 2-0 win over Hibs in the Scottish Cup on Sunday in what was a bad-tempered affair which saw the Easter Road side finish the game with nine men.
Philippe Clement’s men put in a solid performance to reach the semi-finals of the competition, and it means the Light Blues are still on course for the treble.
Has the win come at a cost, however? A couple of players had to come off due to injury during the clash, while this could impact Clement’s starting XI for the Benfica tie on Thursday.
Latest Rangers injury news
Dujon Sterling was the first player to be substituted, being replaced in the 34th minute by Ross McCausland.
The Northern Irish winger was then himself subbed off with 25 minutes remaining and the double blow was yet more bad news for the Belgian coach.
“We will examine them in the next two days to see what is going on,” said the manager during his post-match press conference.
“It is dangerous for me to say it is serious or it is not serious if it is not the truth. I always want to say the truth.”
The club has been riddled with injury issues throughout the whole campaign and with the fixtures coming thick and fast, another two players on the sidelines could be detrimental.
Thankfully, Rabbi Matondo was the replacement for McCausland and the Welsh winger is coming back from his own problems, which means Clement could unleash him on the right flank against Benfica.
McCausland's perfect replacement at Rangers
£23k-per-week starlet Matondo has enjoyed a much more productive second season at Ibrox following his move from Schalke in the summer of 2022.
So far during 2023/24, the Welshman has scored four goals and chipped in with another four assists as he has been a threat every time he has stepped foot on the pitch.
Metric
Europa League
Premiership
Goals
0
3
Assists
0
3
Key passes per game
0
0.7
Successful dribbles per game
0.7
1.3
Big chances created
0
4
Via Sofascore
The winger was even hailed as a “bright spark” by journalist Euan Robertson following his display against PSV Eindhoven at the start of the season, and while injury problems have disrupted his consistency, he has improved since 2022/23.
Typically deployed on the left during his spell at Ibrox, Matondo has played on the right wing 53 times during his career so far, scoring 12 goals and registering seven assists, proving that he can be a reliable threat there. That being said, he's only featured off the right once in the whole of the current campaign.
Matondo also ranks fifth among the squad for goals and assists in the Premiership (six), while ranking third for successful dribbles per game (1.3) and seventh for big chances created (four), indicating that he could be someone who takes the game to Benfica on Thursday evening.
Clement does not have many choices for either wing and this could certainly see the former Manchester City gem come back into the starting XI following his own injury layoff.
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Between now and the end of the season, every player will have to give everything if the club are to win more trophies, but it represents a wonderful opportunity for a club that was on its knees just six short months ago.