Carlos Cuellar admits that Gers cannot afford to lose any more players as their season reaches its climax.
Defender hopes squad avoids added absentees
Carlos Cuellar admits that Rangers cannot afford to lose any more players to injury as their season reaches its climax.
Gers' progression to the Scottish Cup final - following victory over St Johnstone on Sunday - came at a cost as both Steven Naismith and Chris Burke were stretchered off with injuries.
Walter Smith's men are currently preparing for Thursday's Uefa Cup first leg clash against Fiorentina, while they travel to Celtic Park on Sunday for a crunch game against Gordon Strachan's Celtic.
And while Cuellar is optimistic that the squad can cope with their growing list of absentees, he has voiced his concerns.
"It was a blow to lose them both, especially so early in the match," he told the
Evening Times.
A big disappointment
"I'm sure it must be a concern for the manager that we are picking up so many injuries and suspensions at such a crucial stage of the season.
"We are already without Allan McGregor, Lee McCulloch, Kevin Thomson and Barry Ferguson for Thursday and all are key players. Now we might be without Chris and Steven.
"When you have a big squad you hope you have cover, but when you have so many important players out at the one time then it's obviously a big disappointment.
"But hopefully the players who come in can show their quality and help us earn a result. It would be great to keep another clean sheet like in the previous round when we drew 0-0 with Sporting Lisbon."
