Rangers have received a major boost with Standard Liege set to be without five players for Thursday's showdown with the Ibrox side.
The Belgian side announced on Wednesday that three players plus a goalkeeping coach have tested positive for Covid and a further two players are being forced into self-isolation.
It's a body blow for Standard ahead of the crunch Europa League showdown with Steven Gerrard's side as they target starting the group stage off with a big win on home turf.
But they admit their preparation has been severely hampered as the global pandemic has affected them in a major way.
A club statement read: "On Tuesday morning, the entire team underwent a Covid 19 test in preparation for Thursday's European match against Rangers FC.
"The results received this morning indicate that Michelangelo (Balikwisha), Nicolas (Raskin), Moussa (Sissako) and (goalkeeping coach) Jan (Van Steenberghe) are the quartet who went directly into quarantine and will therefore not participate in the matches this Thursday against Rangers FC and this Sunday at STVV.
"As a precaution, Damjan Pavlovic and Abdoul Fessal Tapsoba, both tested negative, who cohabit and spent the evening yesterday with Moussa Sissako, are also excluded from the group pending the results of a new test."
Rangers have yet to feel the effects of Covid directly but will be acutely aware of the increased risks as they travel to take on Standard in the wake of their positive tests.
