Rangers head coach Russell Martin has admitted that Cyriel Dessers’ injury may be serious after the striker was forced off in their 2-1 loss to Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League third qualifying round second leg on Tuesday night, Bold Sports reports.
Dessers almost required a stretcher before being helped off the pitch following a fall, with a potential knee problem. Martin admitted it could be serious, pending a scan: “Yeah, it looks a nasty one, so he’s in a brace now.
“We’ll have to just wait and see over the next couple of days, have a scan and see. We’ll keep our fingers crossed it’s not too bad for a big man.”
Despite the defeat on the night, Rangers progressed 4-2 on aggregate thanks to their first-leg advantage. Rafiu Durosinmi put Plzen ahead shortly before halftime, Lyall Cameron equalised in the 61st minute and Svetozar Markovic struck late for the hosts, but it was too late to change the outcome.
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“I am disappointed we lost and I am disappointed with how many chances we gave up. I think so much of it comes from just being so loose with the ball,” Martin said.
“We were playing against a team who had nothing to lose, who really committed so many numbers, four on the top line, with a heavy press. We played through the press a lot in the first half, got into their final third a lot, then just turned the ball over.”
Looking ahead to their forthcoming match against Club Brugge, Martin acknowledged the need for significant improvement in his team: “If we don’t show a bit more care and quality on the ball, I think we will struggle against anyone.
“Good team, tough game, but I believe that especially at Ibrox — and I think we’ll play at home first — that can be really powerful for us. We have to really embrace the challenge, so I’m excited about it.”
“You expect the level of competition to be good now we’re through to this stage, but we’ll be in it, and we will do our very best to win and put in a performance that we’re really happy with to set up the second leg.”
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