STEVEN GERRARD fears Rangers could be without the services of playmaker Ianis Hagi for their Champions League clash with Malmo on Tuesday night.
The Romanian opened the scoring in the 3-0 win over Livingston at Ibrox as Rangers got their Premiership title defence off and running a day that saw Scott Wright and Kemar Roofe also find the target.
Wright came off the bench on the half hour mark to replace Hagi after he succumbed to the effects of a crude challenge from Adam Lewis just minutes after his early goal.
The performance of Wright was a source of encouragement to Rangers but Gerrard is now facing an injury sweat over Hagi ahead of the trip to Sweden for the third qualifying round clash.
Gerrard said: “It's never helpful to lose a player that early especially when you've only got three subs.
“Last season, you probably got away with that a bit more because you have the extra subs.
“He scored an important goal for us to get us up and running and hopefully the kick's not too serious.
“He's a bit sore just now but hopefully won't keep him out for too long.
“He'll potentially miss Tuesday but we've got good physios here so hopefully they can pull a rabbit out of the hat and get him ready for Malmo, because he's going to be important for us.
“Scott could have started today, without a doubt. His performances in pre-season have been outstanding.
“We're working on him a lot in terms of getting numbers into his game.
“But he came on today and was a bright spark for us. He's full of energy, he sees a pass, he's quick, he's always looking forward trying to penetrate.
“And he got his reward for another strong performance and he's in my thinking for Tuesday night now."
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