Rangers coach reveals reason behind leaving Dessers out of starting XI in 1-0 win against Hibernian

Rangers coach Philippe Clement has revealed why Cyriel Dessers was left out of the starting XI for his side's 1-0 win over Hibernian in a Scottish Premiership match at Ibrox on Sunday afternoon.

Tom Lawrence grabbed the only goal of the game with a curled effort into the top corner, but the goal didn't stand until the intervention of the VAR.

Dessers had the chance to double the lead in the 81st minute after Nedim Bajrami swung a cross into the penalty area, but his close-range header was saved by the goalkeeper Josef Bursik.

Despite being linked with an exit in the summer, the Super Eagles striker has been an integral part of the Light Blues squad this season, and he is in better form than he was last term, though he remains a divisive figure.

Prior to the visit of Hibernian, the 29-year-old only failed to start one game across all competitions this term, which was the Scottish League Cup tie with St. Johnstone last month.

He was in line to make his sixth consecutive start in the Scottish Premiership this term, but Clement decided to hand summer signing Hamza Igamane his first-ever start

Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland via the Herald Scotland ahead of kick-off, Clement revealed the rationale behind dropping Dessers from the starting lineup.

"It is a really short time since the Malmo game and Dio got a knock there, so he's not available for today. We hope to get him back for Thursday without guarantees yet.

"So that was already one change. Cyriel is playing a lot of minutes, Hamza is doing well in training, so there was a good moment to start him and give him this experience for a young striker. I think it's good to have it at Ibrox in our own home, and Cyriel is ready to come in when Hamza gets tired.”

Rangers next face Olympique Lyon in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday which will be their 12th match of the campaign.

Dessers has three goals in the Scottish top flight this term and has been outscored by only three players, Toyosi Olusanya, Callum McGregor, and Pape Habib Guèyein.

Abdulkareem Abdulhamid

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