Philippe Clement aims to “rebuild” Rangers striker Kemar Roofe with a longer-term look at the player’s fitness issues.
The 30-year-old has been bedevilled with various injury problems since signing for the Light Blues from Anderlecht in 2020.
Roofe stayed on the bench for the 4-0 cinch Premiership win over Hibernian at the weekend and missed the goalless Europa League draw against Sparta Prague on Thursday night, and will not be in the squad for the visit of Hearts on Sunday.
Clement did not reveal the specifics of the former Leeds forward’s problem, although he was reportedly sent for a scan on a groin complaint in September under previous manager Michael Beale.
“Kemar will not be available for the weekend for sure,” said the Belgian boss. “Probably we need to rebuild.
“In the next weeks, we need to take a really good look at that because he has been struggling for a long time with the same things.
“It is important to find the reason for that and not always find the solution to get him fit for the next game and struggling afterwards again and going game by game, but really going to the cause of the problem.
“I cannot say anything about that (how long he will be out), we first need to make a really good assessment of how to bring Kemar back in a way that he can be a long time back and not a short time because that has been the case the last couple of months, to get him fit for games but struggling in between so we need to get him really fit.”
Clement was speaking on a Zoom call following what could be a vital Europa League point in the Czech Republic.
Striker Danilo, on his way back to full fitness following a facial injury which requires him to wear a mask on the field, came off the bench and was closest to scoring for the Ibrox side when his shot was tipped on to the crossbar and over by Sparta goalkeeper Peter Vindahl.
Clement believes it will still be several weeks before the Brazilian forward is back to his best.
He said: “He has (been) out for quite a while. He didn’t play so many 90 minutes in the last couple of months or even the last year.
“He looked bright in the short period he played, but it is about making him stronger so that he can reach that level for 90 minutes.
“It is a work of several weeks to bring him to that level.”
Borna Barisic missed the trip to Prague with a knock and Clement is not sure if he will have the left-back available for the game against the Jambos.
He said: “We will see if Borna can train tomorrow, that is still a question mark.”
Clement hopes midfielder Jose Cifuentes will resume training on Saturday, but Tom Lawrence, Rabbi Matondo and Dujon Sterling remain out.
Clement wants ruthless Rangers after nervy win over Hearts
Rangers boss Philippe Clement called on his team to show greater ruthlessness after they were made to work for a 1-0 win over Hearts in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday.
Cyriel Dessers put the Gers ahead after just six minutes at Ibrox, diverting James Tavernier's effort past visiting goalkeeper Craig Gordon.
However, Clement's team failed to build on that quick start and inched over the line amid a tense atmosphere, moving back to within nine points of pacesetters Celtic and Aberdeen.
Speaking after the game, Clement acknowledged his players are fatigued after a gruelling run of fixtures but added they must start taking their chances.
"We made too many wrong choices with the ball and became too sloppy," Clement said.
"It's the end of a very busy period, though, with a lot of travelling and they're all human beings, not robots.
"We missed scoring the second goal and we know that until you get that goal the other team stays in the game, so I want us to kill the belief of the opponent faster.
"I'm very satisfied with the result and the deserved three points. We didn't show the same quality in the second half and we didn't finish off the game. We had a few chances, but it stays nervous until the last second."
Rangers host Dundee United after the international break, while Celtic visit Hearts and Aberdeen travel to St. Mirren.
Celtic show 'another side' in following up Leipzig win by beating Kilmarnock
Celtic beat Kilmarnock 2-0 on Sunday to return to the top of the Scottish Premiership table, showing "another side" to their play after stunning RB Leipzig in the Champions League.
Brendan Rodgers' side defeated German side Leipzig 3-1 on Tuesday to put themselves in a strong position in the league phase of the Champions League, but their attentions returned to domestic action this weekend.
And after Aberdeen eased past Dundee, Celtic knew they must win again to reclaim top spot on goal difference.
Goals from Callum McGregor and Nicolas Kuhn ensured they did just that, although it was a battle for the champions.
"They're totally different games, more fighting football [against Kilmarnock] and what you've got to contend with," Celtic boss Rodgers told Sky Sports.
"But I thought the players were absolutely brilliant, how they had to defend the pressure. The build-up comes quite direct from behind, so they know you have to stand up to the long balls and long throws and everything else.
"The players have shown this week they can deal with all types of games. Today was a brilliant, brilliant win for us and showed another side to us."
They will next face Hearts on 23 November, after the international break.
Celtic show 'another side' in following up Leipzig win by beating Kilmarnoc
Celtic beat Kilmarnock 2-0 on Sunday to return to the top of the Scottish Premiership table, showing "another side" to their play after stunning RB Leipzig in the Champions League.
Brendan Rodgers' side defeated German side Leipzig 3-1 on Tuesday to put themselves in a strong position in the league phase of the Champions League, but their attentions returned to domestic action this weekend.
And after Aberdeen eased past Dundee, Celtic knew they must win again to reclaim top spot on goal difference.
Goals from Callum McGregor and Nicolas Kuhn ensured they did just that, although it was a battle for the champions.
"They're totally different games, more fighting football [against Kilmarnock] and what you've got to contend with," Celtic boss Rodgers told Sky Sports.
"But I thought the players were absolutely brilliant, how they had to defend the pressure. The build-up comes quite direct from behind, so they know you have to stand up to the long balls and long throws and everything else.
"The players have shown this week they can deal with all types of games. Today was a brilliant, brilliant win for us and showed another side to us."
They will next face Hearts on 23 November, after the international break.
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