RANGERS are sweating over the fitness of Filip Helander ahead of their Europa League clash with Lyon on Thursday night.

The defender was stretchered off during the 2-1 victory over St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park and boss Steven Gerrard admitted he was ‘concerned’ about the Swede.

Helander received treatment on the park after going down following a tussle with Michael O’Halloran and was replaced by Jack Simpson for the closing stages as goals from Kemar Roofe and James Tavernier earned the champions a deserved win.

Gerrard was also without the services of Connor Goldson after he was forced to self-isolate ahead of the trip to Perth as his remarkable run of 81 successive appearances came to an end.

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Rangers could now be short of defensive options for the visit of the Ligue 1 giants and boss Gerrard said: “I'm concerned about Helander. He's with the doctors now being assessed.

“He's got ice on, he's bandaged up and it doesn't look good.

“But until we scan it in the next 24 or 48 hours we're not sure. Hopefully he'll pull through but we've got other defenders who will need to step up if we're short.

“I'm hoping Connor will be available for Thursday but if not we'll go with Jack and Leon who are more than capable.”

Gerrard welcomed Tavernier back into the starting line-up after he missed the matches with Alashkert and Celtic due to Covid regulations.

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The skipper scored a stunning late goal to win it for the champions and Gerrard was delighted to see him lead by example once again.

Gerrard said: “In terms of James, that's why he's captain, because of his quality. He steps up in big moments and he's got us three points instead of one today.

“There's a lot of noise around Nathan Patterson who is a fantastic player and who will eventually be Rangers' right back for a long time.

“But you have to remember we've got the best right back in Scotland here right now as well."