Rangers boss Steven Gerrard has revealed Ianis Hagi pulled up in the warm-up and that's why he wasn't used against Malmo on Tuesday night.
Hagi was named among the subs on the team-sheet but Gerrard has revealed he was never likely to be involved but hopes to have more numbers available next week.
Gerrard had bemoaned the lack of options during Saturday's league win over Livingston after league rules were changed to drop back to seven on the bench from nine.
He was able to name more on the bench on Tuesday night but only used Fashion Sakala and the Ibrox gaffer insists he had no other choice.
The likes of Nathan Patterson and Stephen Kelly were on the bench, as were teenagers Alex Lowry and Jay Hogarth and Gerrard didn't feel it was fair to throw them in while 2-0 down.
And he admitted he hopes to have Hagi and Joe Aribo back for next week as well as one or two others as Rangers try to complete a fightback and qualify for the playoff round.
He said: "I’m very happy with five substitutions in Europe.
"I’m also accepted the fact there’s three substitutions domestically but I’d like more options to choose from.
"We had a very young bench outside of Fashion Sakala.
"I didn’t want to stick any young bodies into a game of that magnitude, I didn’t think it was fair.
"We had some issues in the warm-up. Ianis Hagi was unavailable in the warm up, Joe Aribo was unavailable from Monday. They would have been two good options.
"For next week we’ll hopefully have three or four different faces to choose from and we’ll be stronger."
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