Rangers defender Filip Helander has been dropped from the Europa League squad for the playoff round against Legia Warsaw. Greg Docherty has also bee omitted with new signings Andy King and Brandon Barker taking their place.

Helander scored on his first start for the Gers in the 3-0 win over East Fife in the League Cup at the weekend. The Swedish international cost £3.5m from Bologna this summer but has struggled to displace Nikola Katic from the starting line up so far.

Manager Steven Gerrard explained that Katic’s form means that Helander will have to wait for his chance in the first team:

“Niko has come back in such a positive frame of mind after a strong tournament with Croatia’s Under-21s in the summer and has taken that form into the new season. That is probably why I haven’t been able to introduce Filip Helander at the moment.”

Connor Goldson and Katic will likely partner up in the middle of defence for Rangers’ trip to Warsaw later this week. George Edmundson is also in the squad so there should be enough cover for the backline.

The likes of Jake Hastie, Jamie Murphy and Matt Polster have also still not been included. Rangers have limited themselves to a 22-man squad as they don’t have enough homegrown players to fill the quota.