Filip Helander: Rangers boss Steven Gerrard says defender out for ‘foreseeable future’ after surgery | Football News

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has revealed defender Filip Helander has undergone surgery on a knee injury and will be missing “for the foreseeable future”.
Helander suffered the injury in Saturday’s 2-1 win over St Johnstone and required a stretcher to leave the pitch at McDiarmid Park.
The 28-year-old will now miss Thursday’s Europa League match against Lyon at Ibrox and Gerrard says it will be “at least a few months” before the defender returns.
“Helander will be missing,” Gerrard said at his pre-match news conference.
“He has had surgery in the last 24-48 hours to fix an issue that they spotted when they went inside to have a look so he will be missing for the foreseeable future.
“The rest is as it was so we are in good health besides Fil.”
Gerrard added: “I’ve not had a chance to speak to Fil post-surgery but I will do as soon as possible to see how he is mentally and physically.
“It is difficult to put a time on his return for now but will be at least a few months.”
Connor Goldson missed the win over St Johnstone after he was forced to self-isolate because of coronavirus protocols.
The 28-year-old has now been cleared to face Lyon and is likely to partner Leon Balogun in central defence.
“Connor Goldson comes back and is available for tomorrow,” added Gerrard.
“I am confident we have cover and will manage despite being disappointed Filip is missing.”
Lyon eased to a 3-1 win against Strasbourg at the weekend with former Celtic stars Moussa Dembele and Jason Denayer both on target.
Peter Bosz’s side have an important week – after playing in Glasgow, they travel to face Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe on Sunday in a Ligue 1 clash with PSG.
Gerrard is wary of the quality of the French side but has challenged his players to be “brave” in front of their home support.
“Lyon is a club with Champions League level players, a real big test tomorrow and we have to be at our best in both sides of the games,” he said.
“You can be punished very quickly against these teams. We also have to have our own confidence to be brave and go and play.”