Rangers FC via PA Images A corner flag at Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow.
Rangers star invited to party with Al-Nassr and Chelsea icons as Ibrox teammate misses out
Rangers are set to lose Abdallah Sima to AFCON – but Cyriel Dessers will not be playing at the tournament in the Ivory Coast.
Influential Brighton loanee Sima has been called up as part of the Senegal squad for the tournament and could miss at least six games as a result.
One of 27 names called into the African nation’s squad, Senegal boast a hugely talented team including the likes of Sadio Mane (Al-Nassr), Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea), and Kalidou Koulibaly (Al-Hilal).
Senegal are one of the favourites for the Africa Cup of Nations tournament – which runs from the 13th of January to the 11th of February – and as a result could go deep into the competition.
With Rangers and Scottish football about to go into a winter break from the 2nd of January, it means Sima could miss the Scottish Cup clash with Dumbarton and the fifth round of the competition should Rangers win the tie.
Scottish Premiership clashes with Hibs (A), St Mirren (A), Livingston (H), and Aberdeen (H) would also be write offs whilst clashes against St Johnstone (A) and Hearts (H) in the immediate aftermath of the tournament are in doubt.
With Gers manager Philippe Clement lamenting the blow before the defeat to Celtic, Rangers have narrowly avoided losing another player in Nigerian striker Cyriel Dessers.
Abdallah Sima gets AFCON call, Cyriel Dessers misses out
Whilst Abdallah Sima has got an AFCON nod from Senegal, Ibrox teammate Cyriel Dessers has not received a call-up from Nigeria.
Back in November the Belgian-born Rangers striker admitted he was hoping for an invite to the tournament but the forward faced stiff competition to make the Nigeria squad.
The likes of Victor Osimhen (Napoli), Victor Boniface (Leverkusen), and even ex-Rangers striker Umar Sadiq (Real Sociedad) have been preferred by manager Jose Peseiro.
The news will comes as a major blow to the £4.5m summer Rangers signing from Cremonese, who has been the subject of much criticism this season.
Having blown a big opportunity in the 2-1 Scottish Premiership defeat to Celtic, Dessers will now be tasked with firing Rangers past Kilmarnock before consolidating his situation in January.
Rangers have been devastated by injuries in the striker position this season, Brazilian hitman Danilo out with a knee injury and Kemar Roofe, well, Kemar Roofe.
Rangers need striker to step up
Whilst Rangers fans will be cheering Abdallah Sima on at AFCON from afar, there can be no getting away from the fact that this represents an almighty blow to the squad.
Rangers have relied heavily on the attacker this season, with his 14 goals second only to evergreen Ibrox skipper James Tavernier (16).
That’s a big threat to be losing from the side at an important part of the season and let’s hope that, whatever happens at AFCON, Abdallah Sima is back in a Rangers jersey sooner rather than later.
If Cyriel Dessers also wants to break into the Nigeria squad again – the 29-year-old earning his fourth and final cap in September 2022 – then he better be working on that Rangers form.
Even if the hitman has scored nine goals for the club, there’s been too many big moments which haven’t gone Dessers’ way and as a result there’s a growing feeling his days in Glasgow could be numbered.
