Boss Philippe Clement revealed defender Leon Balogun “probably broke something in his face” in Rangers’ 3-0 cinch Premiership win over Livingston which put them in striking distance of leaders Celtic.
The 35-year-old had to be replaced by John Souttar after just 22 minutes at Ibrox after clashing with Livi’s Shaun Donnellan.
Portuguese striker Fabio Silva, who arrived on loan from Wolves last month, opened his Rangers account against the league’s bottom side in the 40th minute before winger Rabbi Matondo added a second in first-half added time.
Gers midfielder Todd Cantwell knocked in a third in the 56th minute as Clement’s side moved three points behind leaders Celtic with a game in hand.
Asked about Balogun after the game, the Belgian said: “Not good and good in a way. It is not good because it is a bad injury, he probably broke something in his face.
“The positive side is he is a warrior and he is somebody with experience who already had things like that in the past.
“He believes he can be back fast with a mask so I hope that is the case. It is the medical staff who need to decide that.”
Rangers’ game in hand is against Ross County on February 14 but Gers fans will be excited about the possibility of going top of the table against Aberdeen at Ibrox on Tuesday might, albeit Celtic, who drew 1-1 with the Dons at Pittodrie earlier in the day, take on Hibernian the following night.
Former Genk, Club Brugge and Monaco boss Clement said: “That is the nice thing to be a fan. I have been a fan also before I was a player.
“That is a totally different life. We know what we need to do our job and that is with complete focus.
“If you start to think about others, you start to lose things yourself. We are not going to fall into that trap as a team.
“I am happy with the team also in that way, I don’t hear any name of another team during the week.
“Everybody is focused on Rangers and not on his ego but on the team. There is a really good team mentality now in that dressing room and I am going to be really tight on that so it stays that way.
“That is the reason we get results. The moment we start to focus on others we can lose that.”
Livingston boss David Martindale claimed Celtic dropping two points before the kick-off at Ibrox gave everyone in Light Blue a boost, although he thought Silva’s goal should have been chopped off for Connor Goldson’s challenge on Livi debutant David Carson inside the box following a corner.
VAR checked the incident but referee John Beaton was not called to look at his pitch-side monitor.
Martindale said: “When I saw the Aberdeen result come through I was a wee bit worried if I am honest.
“It probably gave the Rangers players and the crowd real energy because now it (title) is in Rangers’ hands.
“You are coming to Ibrox and it is already a difficult game but with that fresh impetus knowing the title is in their hands, that was in the back of my mind.
“But I am genuinely amazed that VAR allowed that goal to stand.
“It’s not sour grapes because Rangers deserved to get three points from the game but Goldson’s foot is head height with Carson, he catches Carson on the way down.
“Carson can’t attack the ball the way he would because he can see the foot coming in, he is a wee bit apprehensive.
“I am astounded the goal stands. Up until that point, I thought our game plan, structure, rigidity, when to press, when to drop, was very good and the goal gives the players and crowd real energy and we conceded a sloppy second.”
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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