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Glasgow Live
Glasgow Live
Sport
Alan Galindo

Rangers fitness latest on Leon King and Rabbi Matondo as Giovanni van Bronckhorst updates on duo

Giovanni van Bronckhorst has explained the reasons behind Leon King being replaced against Livingston as he delivered an update on the young defender and team-mate Rabbi Matondo.

Rangers head to Naples on Wednesday night looking to keep slim hopes of European football after Christmas alive. They would ideally need to get a result and hope Liverpool defeat Ajax to take it down to the final game at Ibrox against the Dutch side. A point in Italy coupled up with defeat for the Eredivisie leaders would mean a win in Glasgow would secure third spot in the group section.

The Light Blues drew 1-1 at home with Livingston at the weekend as they fell four points behind Celtic in the race for the title. John Lundstram rescued a point with a 90th minute leveller. King was replaced by James Sands at half-time. Connor Goldson, Filip Helander and John Souttar are all on the sidelines at present - but the news was good on King who was just feeling ill and not injured.

READ MORE: Rangers 'watching' Blackpool's Jerry Yates but face transfer fight with English Premier League clubs

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Van Bronckhorst said: “He had to come off because he was feeling a little bit sick and nauseous.

"So that was why we brought James in. Rabbi fell on his back so he couldn’t move so that’s why we took him off as well.”

Napoli are riding high at the top of the Champions League group with maximum points while they also lead domestically in Serie A after a weekend win over Jose Mourinho's Roma. They've won nine and drawn two games in the league so far scoring 26 goals. In the Group A section they've scored a whopping 17 in four games.

On the challenge facing Rangers, Van Bronckhorst added: “It’s a big game against a really good opponent, at the moment one of the best teams in Europe. They are the leaders in Serie A and strong but it’s also a big opportunity for us in this big game on Wednesday.

"We need to get something out of the game to have a slight chance of going further in Europe.

“But it’s going to be difficult. First of all my focus is to pick the right team and start in the right manner. We have to do everything we can to get a good result.”

READ NEXT:

- Pressure builds on Rangers boss van Bronckhorst after Livingston draw - three things we learned

- Rangers player ratings v Livingston as Lundstram spares Ibrox flops in dismal Lions showing

- Steven Gerrard sacked by Aston Villa as club issue very short statement on former Rangers boss

- Rangers send urgent travel advice to fans ahead of Italy trip after 'concerning' Napoli information

- Celtic and Rangers hit with UEFA fines after Champions League fan incidents

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