Steven Gerrard fears the Rangers will be deprived of the services of playmaker Ianis Hagi for their Champions League clash with Malmo on Tuesday night.
The Romanian opened the scoring in the 3-0 win over Livingston at Ibrox as the Rangers managed to defend their Premiership title and run a day in which Scott Wright and Kemar Roofe also found the target.
Wright came off the bench on the half hour to replace Hagi after succumbing to the effects of a brutal challenge from Adam Lewis just minutes after his first goal.
Wright’s performance was a source of encouragement for Rangers, but Gerrard now faces a sweat injury from Hagi ahead of the trip to Sweden for the third qualifying round.
“It never helps to lose a player this early, especially when you only have three substitutes. Last season you probably got off a little bit more because you have extra subs.” Gerrad said.
“He scored an important goal for us to get us started and I hope the kick isn’t too bad. He’s in a bit of pain right now, but I hope he doesn’t keep him away too long.
“He’s potentially going to be missed on Tuesday, but we’ve got some good physiotherapists here, so hopefully they can pull a bunny out of the hat and get him ready for Malmo because he’s going to be important to us.
“Scott could have started today, without a doubt. His pre-season performance was exceptional. We work a lot on him to get numbers in his game.
“But he arrived today and was a shining spark for us. He’s full of energy, he sees a pass, he’s fast, he’s always eager to try to get in.
“And he got his award for another solid performance and he’s on my mind for Tuesday night now.” Gerrard added.
