Philippe Clement has explained why new Rangers centre-back Robin Propper was not selected from the start against Dynamo Kyiv.
Gers face the Ukrainian giants this evening in the Champions League third qualifying round first leg in Poland and will be aiming for a positive result to take back to Glasgow.
Propper signed for Rangers from FC Twente just last week but was not able to make his debut in the Scottish Premiership stalemate against Hearts on Saturday.
Fans were then hoping that the Dutchman would be brought in from the start against Kyiv but they were left disappointed when the Rangers starting XI was confirmed.
However, Philippe Clement did provide an explanation as to why Propper was not picked and instead settled for a place on the bench at the Arena Lublin.
Why Propper starts on Rangers bench
Clement told Rangers TV: “Tough decision to make not to start with Robin Propper but it’s more because he’s not fresh at the moment.
“People don’t realise if a player comes into the building now these days when you come to the UK, there’s a lot of work to be done with papers.
“He even had to travel outside the country again to come back to get his visa and things like that. So he is less fresh for the moment.
“We expect him in the next couple of games to start but today, he was not fresh enough to start.”
Clement’s Propper decision justified
Rangers have been dogged with injury concerns across the past year and Clement has made it his mission to improve the club’s fortunes on that front this season.
The medical department has been strengthened for the coming season and the last thing the Belgian needs is to make a decision he would later regret.
Propper is not fit enough yet and while Clement may have been tempted to get him involved given the worrying defensive performances from Ben Davies and John Souttar on Saturday, he’s made the right call to bench him tonight.
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