Rangers boss Philippe Clement has revealed that Oscar Cortes is set to be sidelined until September after twisting his knee in Saturday’s 0-0 draw away to Hearts.
The Colombia winger went off early in the second half after being unable to recover from the injury he sustained at the end of the first period in a duel with Jambos right-back Gerald Taylor.
Cortes rejoined Gers on loan from Lens this summer, despite seeing his initial stint in the second half of last season ended prematurely by a muscle injury.
🎙️ Philippe Clement spoke to the media ahead of Tuesday’s match against Dynamo Kyiv. pic.twitter.com/xYmQkMzLuv
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) August 5, 2024
It has now emerged that the 20-year-old will miss the Champions League third qualifying round ties against Dynamo Kyiv over the next two Tuesdays as well as the play-off round tie against Red Bull Salzburg or Twente later this month, if they manage to get past the Ukrainians.
“Oscar Cortes did not travel, he had a scan and he will be out for around four to five weeks,” said Clement, speaking at his pre-match media briefing ahead of the first leg against Kyiv in Lublin, Poland.
“Of course, it is hard blow for him and for the team because he was coming back (after last season’s injury) and he is going to become an important player for the future of this club.
“I think the quality in our rehab is better than we had last season so he is going to come back and be important this season but we are going to miss him in these important weeks.”
New centre-back Robin Propper has been added to the squad after joining from Twente but Clement is wary of pitching the 30-year-old Dutchman in too quickly.
“Robin Propper is fit but of course, when you come in there are a lot of things to do in that moment,” he said.
“I think Brexit doesn’t help in that way. I know from experience, you have to fill in so many papers to come and live in Scotland and you need to find a house and a school for your kids.
“There are a lot of things going on in his head also over the past week because he is just a few days with us so that is something to take into consideration for the game tomorrow.”
Clement confirmed that Rangers were looking to sell Romania midfielder Ianis Hagi, who played for the club’s B team as the first-team flew out to Poland.
“No,” said the manager when asked if the 25-year-old was still part of his plans.
“We had talks with him and his agent in the pre-season and we need to look at a lot of things with the club about wages and how many players we can have in a position with the budget we have, and get a budget to make transfers so it was really clear towards him that the idea is to sell him.
“That is what he wanted also so that is the clear situation.”
Clement admitted it would “make a big world of difference” if Rangers could qualify for the Champions League over the next four weeks but he acknowledges it was far from a formality.
“You cannot count on that, it’s a long road to take,” he said of Champions League qualification. “It’s four really important games that you need to win or qualify in, so it’s a big road.
“Let’s focus now on the first leg and get a good result to take to the second leg. That’s what we need to do, not look at where we are in September.
“We want the Champions League and we will do everything to get that, but the Europa League is not a disgrace for sure. It was a nice journey in the Europa League last season but everybody wants to be in the Champions League.”
