By Oluwadamilola Olaleye
Rangers manager Russell Martin has ruled out Nigerian striker Cyriel Dessers from Sunday’s Scottish Premiership trip to St. Mirren, as the forward continues recovery from a knee injury.
Dessers, who finished last season as the club’s top scorer, sustained the setback during the Champions League qualifier second leg against Viktoria Plzen earlier this month. He has since missed Rangers’ last two games and will now sit out a third.
The 29-year-old travelled with the squad to Belgium for the 3-1 defeat to Club Brugge in midweek but played no part in the encounter.
Providing an update in his pre-match press conference, Martin confirmed Dessers’ absence and hinted at limited attacking options.
“Cyriel is still out, he won’t be available for Sunday. We’re monitoring his recovery closely but he’s not ready yet,” Martin said.
Second-choice striker Hamza Igamane is expected to be named among the substitutes, leaving Rangers with a shortage of fit forwards as they chase their first league win of the season.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. On the back of domestic engagement since 2008, he began his international career journey at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
