Philippe Clement confirmed Abdallah Sima is set to be sidelined “long term” as the Rangers manager waits on the final prognosis of the striker’s injury.

The 22-year-old Senegal international, who has scored 15 goals since arriving on loan from Brighton in the summer, was sent home from the Africa Cup of Nations with a thigh problem.

The Senegal FA confirmed Sima picked up the injury in training and a statement warned he could face a “long period of unavailability.”

Clement was asked if had any further update on Sima at his media conference ahead of Wednesday’s Premiership trip to Hibernian, where Rangers will look to use one of their two games in hand on Celtic to cut the eight-point gap to the leaders.

“No, not yet and it is not that I want to keep things away from you,” said Clement.

“I expect to have more news today, tomorrow at the latest, from my medical staff and I always listen to them and not other people.

“So ask me this question after the game and then I will have the information.”

Asked if there was any indication if it would be a short-term or long-term absence, Clement replied: “It will be long term. That is also why I want to have the right information.

“Like I always say, I want to look at the glass half-full, I don’t want pity or disappointment.

“The team and squad has proven they always stand up when something happens and other players do the job and there have been really positive surprises that way so we are going to look for solutions and other surprises.”

Clement, meanwhile, refused to confirm reports that midfielder Mohamed Diomande will be arriving from Danish side FC Nordsjaelland.

So far in the winter transfer window only Fabio Silva has joined the Ibrox club, the Portuguese attacker coming on loan from Wolves.

While Clement expects to add further to his squad, he was tight-lipped about 22-year-old Diomande.

He said: “I don’t speak about many rumours because there has been how many, 50 names in the last couple of weeks?

“If you start to talk about one rumour you need to talk about the other rumours and then I am only busy about that and not making training any more or looking at players or talking to my own players, so I never do that.”

Clement also revealed that 20-year midfielder Alex Lowry will go back out on loan after returning from a temporary spell at Hearts which was cut short.

He said: “The plan is we want him to go on loan again to get minutes and come back in a good way. We will see what teams are interested and what is best for him.”

The Scottish Football Association has hit back at Rangers as the row over a non-penalty incident at Celtic Park continues.

Celtic defender Alistair Johnston appeared to handle the ball inside the area in the first half of the cinch Premiership clash at Parkhead on December 30 while under pressure from Gers forward Abdallah Sima.

Referee Nick Walsh pointed for a goal kick and the decision was confirmed by VAR official Willie Collum following a check.

It later emerged through Sky Sports – broadcasting the match live – that there had been an offside in the build-up and Rangers claimed that was never mentioned during the VAR analysis.

The Ibrox club called on the SFA to release the audio of the incident and following a meeting with the governing body on Wednesday, Rangers said there was “an overriding consensus the VAR decision of no handball was incorrect”.

The Govan club also added they were “deeply concerned” by the speed of the decision and there were reports that the club had requested that Collum not be involved in Rangers games going forward.

However, in a lengthy statement the SFA said: “The Scottish FA is disappointed by contents of the most recent statement issued by Rangers.

“Chief executive James Bisgrove and director of football operations Creag Robertson attended a private briefing with the head of referee operations, Crawford Allan, to review the incident in question, including the use of matchday audio.

“We understood from the chief executive that the meeting had been constructive and informative, and conducted amicably. This does not appear to be reflected in the club’s statement.

“During the meeting, it was pointed out that the incident in question was a subjective handball and that the VAR did not deem it a sufficiently clear and obvious error to refer to on-field review.

“Furthermore, the offside would not have been mentioned at the time as it was not part of the VAR’s decision-making on the handball.

“It was highlighted within Clydesdale House that had the VAR considered the incident to be a handball offence and asked the referee to carry out an on-field review, the attacking phase of play would have been checked and an offside would have been identified.

“This supplementary information was relayed to broadcasters in-game, and we are reviewing the process of information dissemination to avoid any perceived ambiguity in future.

“There was an overall consensus that the incident could not have led to a penalty kick being awarded in any event, and that there was no impact on the final outcome of the match.”

The statement continued: “Since the summer, we have ensured that key match incidents [KMI] are reviewed and shared with all clubs after every full round of Premiership fixtures, including use of audio.

“We will continue to do this, along with KMI being shared with the independent review panel for their consideration and opinion.

“Finally, we note posts from a recent official media partner of the club’s detailing requests from the private meeting that were immediately rejected.

“We would ask that club representatives show greater responsibility in such matters, especially in the context of recent incidents in European football that have compromised the safety of match officials and led to widespread condemnation.”

The latter comments comes after former MKE Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca was recently given a permanent suspension for punching referee Halil Umut Meler after his side’s draw with Caykur Rizespor in the Turkish Super Lig.

Philippe Clement is “still curious” about the potential of Rangers after they went into the winter break with a bounce-back 3-1 win over Kilmarnock and still on the heels of Celtic.

The Belgian had lost his first game as Gers boss since taking over in October in the narrow 2-1 Old Firm defeat at Parkhead on Saturday but late first-half goals from wide-men Ross McCausland and Abdallah Sima at Ibrox on Tuesday had the Light Blues in control at the break.

Danny Armstrong reduced the deficit in the 58th minute with a penalty awarded after VAR intervention but Todd Cantwell soon restored the two-goal cushion to keep them eight points behind cinch Premiership leaders Celtic with two games in hand.

The Gers players will enjoy a few days off before going to Spain for a training camp next week.

Clement has already brought the Viaplay Cup back to Ibrox and guided the club into the last 16 of the Europa League and was asked about the potential of his squad.

He said: “I am still curious. I am happy that you speak now about the potential of this team.

“Eleven weeks ago, I heard a lot of people saying there was not potential enough in this team to do what Rangers needs to do.

“So it is positive that so many players are  growing, and that is what I want to see. I will keep a close eye, together with my staff, on who are the players staying ambitious, who are the players who are pushing. There are a lot of good examples in that way.

“You have a young lad (Ross McCausland)  who was just in the academy and now he is playing really regular in the first team because he is performing.

“Kieran Dowell, Dujon Sterling, who are now playing in other positions. They have done that for the team, or else they wouldn’t play.

“So, I think this team is in a really good way. The dressing room also.

“The atmosphere every day within the building, with the training, the ambition in the training.

“After our first defeat, which we knew would come one day, the reaction was how I wanted it. We looked at what we had to do to make good, to analyse what went wrong, what we could do better.

“I’m happy that everybody is saying they see a different team now with more of a winning mentality.

“I see more and more quality and that the team understands better and better how I want to see football, how I want to see them run together, how I want them to create spaces for other players. It becomes more and more fluid.

“If the players keep on working, stay attentive, stay concentrated then after a while it becomes more natural for them.

“So there are really positive things. It’s not about being satisfied. It’s about being ambitious to get better.”

Philippe Clement was left puzzled after Rangers conceded a rare penalty in the 3-1 win over Kilmarnock at Ibrox.

The Ibrox club had called for more transparency over VAR’s interpretation of handball after there had been no spot-kick awarded after the ball had come off Celtic defender Alistair Johnston’s hand inside the box in the 2-1 defeat at Parkhead on Saturday.

Rangers were leading 2-0 against fourth-place Killie through goals by Ross McCausland and Abdallah Sima when VAR called for a penalty check after Rory McKenzie’s cross struck the arm of Gers defender John Souttar inside the box.

Referee John Beaton went to his pitchside monitor and then pointed to the spot, with Danny Armstrong giving Jack Butland no chance before Todd Cantwell restored the two-goal lead to keep the Light Blues eight points behind Celtic with two games in hand.

It was the first penalty Rangers had conceded in 75 cinch Premiership matches since Lewis Ferguson netted for Aberdeen in a 1-1 draw in January 2022

Clement told Rangers TV: “The only downside for me is that I cannot explain to my players anymore what is handball and what is not after this game if we get a penalty against like this and a goal against like this three days after what happened at Celtic Park.

“I can’t give them an explanation and that’s different as a manager when you cannot give an explanation.

“It’s not easy. Afterwards, we can laugh and it’s not a big difference, it’s 3-0 or 3-1.

“Just for the future, it needs to be clear for everybody what is handball and what is not handball and these two situations it’s a little bit bizarre.”

Rangers have requested that the audio of the VAR penalty incident in the 2-1 defeat at Celtic be released by the Scottish Football Association.

Celtic full-back Alistair Johnston appeared to handle the ball inside his own box in the first half of the cinch Premiership encounter at Parkhead under pressure from Gers attacker Abdallah Sima.

A goal-kick was awarded by referee Nick Walsh and the check by VAR official Willie Collum for handball came to nothing but it later emerged through Sky Sports, who were broadcasting the match live, that there had been an offside in the build-up.

Gers boss Philippe Clement said afterwards: “There was no communication towards me. And if the communication is that Sima is offside, I’m not a referee – but there should have been a clear signal from VAR for offside.”

A Rangers spokesperson said: “Rangers have asked the Scottish FA to make the VAR audio available to the club to understand why no penalty was awarded despite a clear handball by Celtic’s Alistair Johnston.

“The club is keen to understand the process that led to that decision being made as it was not made public at the time, nor communicated to our team.

“We also understand Sky, as the league’s official broadcaster, is deeply unhappy and confused with the situation.

“Their panel spent half-time in agreement Rangers should have been awarded a penalty, unaware of any offside check. Again, this only surfaced in the second half.

“Rangers remains advocates of VAR, but there must be significantly more transparency for it to be successful in Scotland.”

Philippe Clement questioned the VAR process which ruled out a penalty claim in Rangers’ 2-1 defeat by Celtic at Parkhead.

Leading through a Paulo Bernardo goal in the first half, Celtic full-back Alistair Johnston appeared to handle the ball inside his own penalty area under pressure from Abdallah Sima.

The VAR check for handball came to nothing but it later emerged that Sima had been offside in the build-up.

Kyogo Furuhashi added a second just after the break before Rangers defender Leon Balogun was shown a straight red by referee Nick Walsh for denying Daizen Maeda a clear goalscoring opportunity.

Gers skipper James Tavernier curled in a wonderful free-kick in the 88th minute to make it an anxious ending for Celtic, who moved eight points clear of their Old Firm rivals at the top of the table having played two games more.

It was a first defeat for the Belgian in 17 games as Rangers boss and he was left perplexed.

“My biggest frustration isn’t Cyriel Dessers missing a chance because (Erling) Haaland and (Kylian) Mbappe miss chances like that,” said Clement, who claims he was handed a yellow card during the game “for reacting too hard on a ball that was clearly ours given to the other side”.

“My biggest frustration is that if there’s a clear handball, I don’t understand why it’s not a penalty given.

“It’s a clear thing so I’m curious about it.

“There was no communication towards me. And if the communication is that Sima is offside, I’m not a referee but there should have been a clear signal from VAR for offside.

“Then everyone knows the decision. There was no communication at that moment.

“Otherwise, the signal of the referee is not correct. So there’s been a mistake and it’s clear for everyone to see.

“I also make mistakes but it’s an expensive one today.”

Clement was not displeased with the way his side performed in a stadium which had home fans only amid an allocation dispute between the two clubs.

He said: “The match was a good promotion for Scottish football with two teams who wanted to win, attacked and created chances.

“I need to look at my side and I’m happy with what they showed me today.

“We had more shots than Celtic but we didn’t take our moments.

“They were more efficient on the day and when games are in the balance like that, you can lose them.

“It could have been a draw, we could have won it. But the circumstances weren’t on our side.

“My team reacted in the second half, even after a world-class goal to make it 2-0. It’s a very good goal and you can’t do too many things about it.

“But we never stopped, even with 10 men. We kept going and created enough chances to score our goal and others. We went until the end and everyone here became nervous.”

An Abdallah Sima double got Rangers back to winning ways with a 2-0 cinch Premiership victory over St Mirren at Ibrox.

Philippe Clement’s side had drawn in their last two matches against Aris Limassol and Aberdeen and the on-loan striker from Brighton quelled growing frustration in the stands when he broke the deadlock for the unimpressive home side with a strike just before the break.

The Light Blues grew stronger in the second half and Sima grabbed a second in the 70th minute with a fine finish to take his tally for the season to 11, with Rangers moving back to eight points behind leaders Celtic having played a game fewer.

Clement extended his unbeaten run to 10 games since taking over as boss but will require much more from his side if they are to topple the champions.

A much-changed Rangers started the game 11 points behind Celtic, who beat St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park earlier in the day.

Clement brought in winger Ross McCausland, Connor Goldson, Leon Balogun, Tom Lawrence and Cyriel Dessers, while Buddies boss Stephen Robinson also rung the changes with Jonah Ayunga, Ryan Flynn, Richard Taylor and Caolan Boyd-Munce drafted in.

The early stages were mostly uneventful.

In the fourth minute a Dessers attempt from skipper James Tavernier’s corner was saved comfortably by Saints keeper Zach Hemming before the Gers striker turned a Tavernier cross past the post from close range.

Todd Cantwell, replaced after just 35 minutes of the 1-1 Europa League draw against Aris Limassol on Thursday night, was moved from right wing into the middle and looked more comfortable but he was off balance when Tavernier headed back a Borna Barisic cross, and the ball was cleared.

It was all pretty dull as Sima headed a Tavernier cross just over the bar in the 23rd minute just before St Mirren defender Marcus Fraser was booked by referee Matthew MacDermid for time-wasting at a throw-in.

Saints had their moments – a Scott Tanser cross just evaded the unmarked Ayunga before Gers keeper Jack Butland turned a Boyd-Munce shot past the post for a corner which was defended.

The game looked to be heading to the interval goalless before Sima, who recently became a father, struck.

McCausland, Dessers and Cantwell linked up well and as the latter jinked inside the box to tee up a shot, Sima took the ball off his toes and thundered a drive past Hemming from 12 yards to cheers of relief.

St Mirren started the second half positively an again Butland was required to save an Ayunga shot past the post for the first of three successive corners which came to nothing.

Hemming beat away a powerful Tavernier shot and blocked a Dessers drive – his last real contribution before being replaced by Brazilian striker Danilo – as Rangers responded and Cantwell and McCausland began to affect proceedings.

When Cantwell put Sima through on goal with a stunning pass the Senegal striker guided the ball low past Hemming with a VAR check confirming he was not offside and with that, the three points were remaining in Ibrox.

Interim boss Steven Davis insists he retains confidence in the Rangers squad as he called for unity following the 2-1 Europa League defeat by Aris Limassol in Cyprus.

The former Light Blues midfielder was asked to take over after Michael Beale was dismissed at the weekend following the 3-1 loss Aberdeen at Ibrox which left the Gers seven points behind cinch Premiership leaders Celtic.

Rangers had beaten Real Betis in their Group C opener at Ibrox but found the Cypriot side too much, losing the first goal after nine minutes to defender Alex Moucketou-Moussounda.

Striker Shavy Babicka added a second goal in the 59th minute before Light Blues attacker Abdallah Sima pulled a goal back for the Ibrox men but the visitors could not complete the comeback.

Ahead of the trip to St Mirren on Sunday, Davis said: “I still believe we have some real quality players. Obviously, confidence has been hit.

“You go through these periods in your career and it’s a really difficult moment.

“As I say by sticking together you make sure to do the basics right in terms of hard work and application which they have been doing.

“It’s important we continue that and things will turn because I believe in the qualities of the squad.

“We’ll get players back which will help. The most important thing is right now is us being a group together.

“It was a really difficult night because we felt a real opportunity to come here and build on the Betis game.

“I think we caused a lot of our own problems in the game. Obviously, with the two goals we give away we’re really disappointed with and when that happens you have a mountain to climb.

“Firstly I’ve got to take some responsibility. In the first half we kept trying to play in the middle of the pitch when it wasn’t really on, they were good at getting transitions from that with the pace they had up front which caused us problems all night.

“Whenever you go behind in a second half you must throw some caution to the wind at certain points.

“We tried to simplify the game really, trying to get the ball in behind, get it wide and cross the ball into the box and ultimately we didn’t do enough to take something from the game.

“In terms of the effort of the players, I thought they tried to keep going till the end and in terms of the energy they put in, I couldn’t ask for any more in that respect.

“There wasn’t a lack of effort, we’d never question that from the dressing room but it is a really difficult moment that everyone is in.

“When that happens you maybe start to make the wrong decision and things like that.

“Sunday’s coming up and it’s a really quick turnaround. We’re hurting from tonight but it’s important as a group we stick together.”

Abdallah Sima’s second-half goal delivered a 1-0 victory for Rangers against Real Betis in their opening Europa League group match at Ibrox.

The forward poked home a shot from close range to settle a competitive match between the two of the favourites to progress to the knockout stages.

Michael Beale’s side also struck the frame of the goal twice in a strong second-half display and had goalkeeper Jack Butland to thank for making several key saves, especially in the opening period.

Rangers made four changes from the team that had defeated St Johnstone at the weekend.

There were starting places for Sima, Rabbi Matondo, Jose Cifuentes and Borna Barisic. Out dropped Danilo, Nicolas Raskin, Sam Lammers and Ridvan Yilmaz.

Betis were able to call upon the experience of Claudio Bravo to deputise for first-choice goalkeeper Rui Silva as part of six changes to the team beaten 5-0 by Barcelona at the weekend.

Rangers could have been in front within five minutes. Kemar Roofe’s searching pass sent Matondo running clear but his shot was weak and easily saved by Bravo.

Betis’ response came from a driven effort from Abdessamad Ezzalzouli that Butland did well to save before he pushed away another Ezzalzouli shot from a tight angle.

It was end to end at this point and a rare mis-step from the impressive Isco saw him drag a shot wide after good play by Hector Bellerin down the Betis right.

Ezzalzouli then lashed a shot over the top and saw another effort repelled by Butland as the Spaniards pushed for the lead.

At the other end, Sima could not get enough purchase on his stab at goal before Matondo was wasteful with another attempt before the break.

The Welshman looked to have a great chance early in the second half with Sima’s cross coming his way only for Bellerin to steer it clear for a corner.

Tom Lawrence struck the outside of a post with a long-range effort and Barisic then hit the top of a crossbar from a free-kick just outside the box after Marc Bartra had felled Roofe.

Lammers came on for the injured Lawrence and saw two efforts blocked as Rangers went looking for a winner.

It arrived after 68 minutes, Sima slamming in a loose ball as Betis failed to properly deal with a goalmouth scramble after Bravo made a stunning stop to repel Roofe’s volley.

Betis pushed for a leveller but two big saves from Butland denied substitute Rodri.