Jon Toral played all of Glasgow Rangers’ clash with Motherwell at Ibrox on Saturday.
Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha
Rangers boss Pedro Caixinha has told RangersTV (via club’s official website) that he is considering leaving Jon Toral out of the Gers side to face Kilmarnock on Wednesday.
Toral played the entirety of the Light Blues’ 1-1 draw with Motherwell on Saturday and has generally been a decent option since arriving on loan from Arsenal during the January transfer window, with two assists coming in his seven Scottish Premiership appearances.
But while Toral may be fit for the contest against Killie, Caixinha has suggested that the game being played at Rugby Park could pose something of a problem that may be influence his selection decision.
“I don’t know also about Jon Toral because of the surface we are going to play,” he told RangersTV (via club’s official website)
“He has had some problems with his knee, he faced some surgery on the knee, and this is the surface that normally means we need to take care of those players.”
Jon Toral has struggled with knee problems in the past
While Caixinha was not in charge, he is likely to have been informed how the surface had a negative impact on Rangers last season when Martyn Waghorn suffered an injury in the February cup tie that led to him making just two more appearances for the Gers before the end of the campaign.
While it is not exactly clear how great a factor the pitch played in leaving Waghorn sidelined for so long, it is not surprising that Caixinha is considering taking a cautious approach with some of the more vulnerable players in his squad, especially when the Gers may need an almost flawless run to win the race for second.
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