GIOVANNI VAN BRONCKHORST hopes Leon Balogun hasn't suffered another injury blow as Rangers sweat on the fitness of the Nigerian stopper.

Balogun was forced off during the first half of the 2-0 victory over Hibernian on Wednesday night as the champions kept up the pressure on Celtic at the top of the table.

The loss of Balogun saw Van Bronckhorst switch Calvin Bassey from left-back to a central berth alongside Connor Goldson as Borna Barisic stepped off the bench.

Balogun only returned from a lengthy lay-off last month and has turned out against Stirling Albion, Celtic and Hearts in recent weeks.

Van Bronckhorst told RangersTV: "I don’t know exactly what he has but he couldn’t continue. We have to assess him [on Thursday].

"For him, it’s been a difficult time. He has been away through injury in many moments of this season.

"He just came back so hopefully it’s not that serious but we have to wait and see."

A first half penalty from James Tavernier and Alfredo Morelos' 16th strike of the campaign clinched a comfortable victory for the champions at Ibrox.

Hibernian rarely threatened as Shaun Maloney's side produced a lacklustre showing and didn't look like causing an upset.

And Van Bronckhorst was pleased to get another clean sheet on his record as Rangers followed up their 5-0 win over Hearts with another impressive Premiership display.

Van Bronckhorst said: "It’s always important for the confidence, especially the defence. Our foundation is to keep the zero because we know we’re going to create chances in every game, as we saw today.

"There are moments we had to defend, especially in the last five minutes with some corner kicks. There was also a great shot from distance that Allan saved.

"I’m really pleased for him and also for us overall to keep the clean sheet and get another three points."