Giovanni Van Bronckhorst backs Rangers to cope without injured Alfredo Morelos

Giovanni Van Bronckhorst insists Rangers can cope with the loss of Alfredo Morelos after the Ibrox striker was ruled out for the remainder of the season.

The Colombian, who has scored 18 times in all competitions this term, has had an operation on a thigh injury sustained on international duty at the end of last month.

At the media conference ahead of the Europa League quarter-final first-leg clash against Braga in Portugal on Thursday night, Morelos’ absence for the rest of the campaign was the main issue.

Asked if he would be able to cope without his top scorer, the Dutchman said: “I believe so.

“Of course, it is a big blow to us because he is our striker and we now don’t have him any more this season. So, yeah, we are disappointed.

“But we know what the problem is, how long he’s out, and we have to move on. That’s the only thing we have to do now.

“Out of the five questions I’ve been asked, four of them have been about Morelos, so that means he is a very important player for us.

“But the reality is that he’s not here and we have to prepare for this game without him.

“That’s what we’ve done in the last few days and that’s what we’re focusing on.”

Rangers lost 2-1 to Celtic at Ibrox on Sunday to fall six points behind their Old Firm rivals at the top of the cinch Premiership table with just six fixtures remaining.

And while there is some despondency among the Light Blues fans at the thought of losing their title back to their city rivals, Van Bronckhorst believes there is a  “big” European opportunity.

He said:  “It’s not often you play a quarter-final in Europe with the chance to reach the semi-finals. It’s not something that happens to many players.

“So we have to work hard and get the performances in tomorrow and