Van Bronckhorst confirms Rangers to start Aaron Ramsey against Annan

Aaron Ramsey and Filip Helander will both start for Rangers when they take on Annan in the Scottish Cup, Giovanni Van Bronckhorst has confirmed.

Ramsey will make his full debut in the fifth-round tie at Galabank after coming off the bench for two substitute appearances since his loan move from Juventus.

“He will start,” manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst said. “Aaron has been doing well. He had more team sessions in training.

“He also had some minutes against Hibs so he is getting better and fresher and the rhythm is coming back. So he will be starting.”

Helander has been out for five months after suffering a knee injury in a game against St Johnstone.

“Filip has been training for weeks now, I think he has had around 20 sessions with the team now,” van Bronckhorst said.

“So I think we have a level where he can start games. He will start. I am really happy for Filip that he can leave his injuries behind him.”

Rangers have had other positive fitness news relating to Leon Balogun, who went off with a knock against Hibs on Wednesday, and Ryan Jack, who missed the game with an ankle injury.

“Leon had a scan which was very positive,” van Bronckhorst said. “The injury isn’t bad so hopefully he can return soon to join the team in training.

“Ryan will be, I think, available for training this weekend. He is recovering well and should be involved in the game next week.”

The Dutchman confirmed reports from Romania that Ianis Hagi was likely to miss the start of next season.

The midfielder suffered a knee injury in the fourth-round win over Stirling but Rangers had not previously divulged the nature of the damage or the timeframe beyond the player missing the rest of this season.

“It’s a cruciate ligament,” van Bronckhorst said. “I have had the injury as well and it’s between six to nine months so if you count it’s likely he will miss the start of the season. It’s not difficult maths to do.

“Hopefully his recovery will go smoothly and he can recover well. That’s our main objective. If you are out for six to nine months you just have to wait and see how the rehab is developing, but for me that’s no surprise.”

As well as giving Ramsey and Helander game time, the Rangers manager plans on bringing in some fringe players against the cinch League Two outfit.

“We are travelling with a big squad and we want to use the players who didn’t play as much lately,” he said.

“We have some players coming back from injury The youngsters will travel with us to Anann so there is room for them to also feature in the game.”