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Philippe Clement guided his side to eighth spot in the final league phase rankings which meant they avoided the playoffs to join Premier League duo Manchester United and Tottenham in the knockouts directly.
The draw for the next phase is set for February 21, with the bracket then opened out all the way until the final in Bilbao, and FC Twente, Bodo/Glimt, Fenerbahce and Anderlecht are amongst the possible opponents for Rangers.
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Ahead of the next phase of the competition, Clement has utilised the option to update his squad, as per UEFA rules over changes for the Round of 16 and beyond.
Managers can add three players to their revised list, however, teams can only add a maximum of three to their List A squads, and squads cannot exceed 25 players. If a list previously included 25 names, players needed to removed or leave the club in January, in order for new names to be added.
The Portuguese full-back arrived on loan from Lille, and was expected to be included ahead of Clinton Nsiala, only for Clement to opt for the latter instead.
Clement has explained his call to opt for Nsiala over Fernandes due to a packed fixture schedule across multiple competitions in the weeks ahead.
“It’s difficult to only make three changes to the European squad. Rafa Fernandes understood why he wasn’t in the European squad, he still has a lot of games to play in the league and cup – he still has time to grow and develop as he’s a young player,” he said.
“There have been different injuries with Cortes throughout this time here. I hope for him, he won’t have as many problems going forward – it’s mostly been bad luck. He’s still a few weeks away from training.”
Before European action comes back into focus, Rangers have Scottish Cup Fifth Round clash with Queen’s …
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