Steven Pressley has told the Daily Record that it ‘might’ suit Rangers to start Kemar Roofe over Alfredo Morelos in the Old Firm derby irrespective of the Colombian’s injury concern.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst faces an anxious few days before Celtic visit Ibrox this Sunday to see if Morelos can play. The forward was on crutches at Glasgow airport on Thursday as he jetted down to London to visit a specialist, having returned early from international duty.
Colombia sent Morelos home from their World Cup qualifiers citing muscle overload as the reason he would not feature. Reinaldo Rueda’s side still won both ties with Venezuela and Bolivia. But Los Cafeteros missed out on a place at the Qatar tournament, along with Chile.
Morelos has now failed to represent his country in Colombia’s last 17 matches. He has also only been in one squad since playing nine minutes at the 2021 Copa America against Peru. Yet the 25-year-old has been prolific for the Gers with 19 goals and eight assists this term.
Alfredo Morelos injury blow ‘might suit’ Rangers to start Kemar Roofe
Van Bronckhorst will hope Morelos’ injury does not keep the striker from leading Rangers’ attack against Celtic in the Old Firm derby, but Pressley believes the blow could present a great opening for Roofe to step in and actually offer the Gers a more imposing presence.
The £4m former RSC Anderlecht forward has scored 12 goals over his 30 appearances in all competitions this term. He is yet to provide any assists, however. But Pressley feels Roofe can be a better option for Rangers than Morelos, injury or not, given their differing styles.
“From the perspective of Rangers being able to put more pressure on Celtic, for this particular game, it might suit them to go with Roofe,” he said. “One of Morelos’ failings is his ability to really pressure the ball when out of possession. He’s not a pressing player.
“Roofe, on the other hand, definitely is and that’s why I think this could be [a] game which really suits him if Rangers decide to go after Celtic. With Morelos in your team, I think that’s difficult to do.”
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