'Joe Has Missed 10 Weeks' - Rangers Boss Gerrard Admits Aribo Not In Tip-top Condition

Joe Aribo is available for selection for the Europa League fixture between Standard Liege and Rangers at the Stade Maurice Dufrasne on Thursday evening after recovering from an ankle injury.

Having spent more than two months on the sidelines, the Nigeria international returned to action last weekend in Rangers' 2-0 win at bitter rivals Celtic, coming on as a substitute in the 89th minute.

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has admitted that Aribo is not yet in tip-top condition in terms of match fitness.

Providing a squad update during his media briefing in Belgium, Gerrard said : "The squad is in a real, good place at the moment. We still need to get Kemar and Joe Aribo up to speed - Joe has missed 10 weeks and Kemar missed maybe five.

"So they will take a little bit of time to get back up to 100 per-cent, but I want to try and get them up to speed as quick as I can.

"The squad is in real, good shape in-terms of health - everyone is fit and available and it is only [Niko] Katic who is not with us at the moment. "

Aribo missed ten games across all competitions while on the sidelines and was not in the Nigeria squad for the friendlies against Algeria and Tunisia this month.

Igho Kingsley