Everyone seems to have a different opinion on international breaks. Any Scotland-supporting Glasgow Rangers fans may be loving them at this moment in time, after Scotland beat Denmark 4-2 to qualify for next year’s World Cup.
However, some supporters may not like the break from club football or may not be happy with watching their country play, for whatever reason that may be.
Another reason as to why someone, and possibly Danny Rohl, may not enjoy international breaks is that it means that Rangers stars can pick up injuries without playing for their club.
For example, the German head coach will currently be sweating over the availability of central defender John Souttar, after he was forced out of the starting line-up against Denmark during the warm-up.
The Scotland international picked up an unknown injury before kick-off, after initially being named in the starting line-up, and it remains to be seen whether or not he will be available this weekend.
On the same night, Derek Cornelius was forced off after just 30 minutes for Canada in their clash with Venezuela, with what is suspected to be a thigh injury, which makes him a doubt for the clash with Livingston at Ibrox in the Scottish Premiership.
Ranking Rangers centre-backs this season
Losing both Souttar and Cornelius would be a blow for Rohl ahead of Saturday’s match because they were the starting centre-back pairing in the 3-0 win over Dundee at Dens Park last time out.
The Canadian centre-back, who is on loan from Marseille, missing the match would be a significant blow because he has been in impressive form for the Gers this season, particularly since Rohl came through the door.
Cornelius has started all three of the new manager’s league matches and won 21 of his 32 duels, per Sofascore, in those matches, helping Rangers to keep two clean sheets and concede just one goal.
The Marseille loanee, with those dominant displays, has been the top-performing centre-back at the club this season, whilst Souttar has started all 11 of the club’s league matches, under Russell Martin, Stevie Smith, and Rohl, per Sofascore.
1
Derek Cornelius
2
John Souttar
3
James Tavernier
4
Emmanuel Fernandez
5
Nasser Djiga
6
Clinton Nsiala
As you can see in the table above, we have placed James Tavernier in third place because he has filled in at centre-back, most recently against Kilmarnock and Roma, and done a reliable job.
Emmanuel Fernandez has started two matches for Rangers since his move from Peterborough. He scored in his start against Alloa Athletic and won 12 of his 15 duels, per Sofascore, in his only Premiership start against St Mirren, which makes it hard to put him too high or too low, as he has impressed in limited game time.
Nasser Djiga, meanwhile, ranks below him in fifth because the Wolves loanee has played 17 times for Rangers this season and was recently described as “rotten” by Heart & Hand content creator David Edgar.
The Burkina Faso international has made several costly errors, including a red card against Dundee in August and an inexplicable mistake, letting his man race clear through on goal, against Club Brugge in the Champions League play-off tie.
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Finally, Clinton Nsiala has to rank sixth out of the six first-team centre-back options, including Tavernier, simply because he has not played a single minute of football for the Gers this season.
However, if Souttar and Cornelius are both unavailable for selection against Livingston on Saturday because of the injuries that they picked up on international duty, it could finally be time to unleash the left-footed star.
Why Rangers should finally unleash Clinton Nsiala
The former AC Milan centre-back was seemingly not in Russell Martin’s plans at Ibrox, as he did not feature in a single matchday squad, but Rohl has the chance to change that this weekend.
As aforementioned, Djiga has not had the best of starts to life at Ibrox, hence why Edgar dubbed him “rotten”, and his mistakes for the Gers suggest that another player should be given an opportunity to shine.
If Souttar and Cornelius are both unavailable, Fernandez could come in to replace the former as the right-sided centre-back, after his dominant display last time out in the Premiership against St Mirren earlier this season.
That would leave Rohl in need of replacing Cornelius against Livingston and Nsiala could be the ideal player to step in for the Canada international, as he is the only other left-footed senior centre-back option in the squad.
The 21-year-old centre-back played 11 times in the Premiership under Philippe Clement and Barry Ferguson in the 2024/25 campaign, and rarely let the Light Blues down with his performances.
Dundee
1-1 draw
St Johnstone
3-1 win
Aberdeen
3-0 win
Dundee United
3-1 win
Ross County
4-0 win
Hearts
3-1 win
St Mirren
2-0 loss
Kilmarnock
4-2 win
Celtic
3-2 win
Aberdeen
2-2 draw
St Mirren
2-2 draw
As you can see in the table above, the Scottish giants only lost one of those 11 matches in the division, which shows that he was far from a disaster in the senior team.
In fact, former teammate Ross McCausland admitted that he and some of the other players in the squad had described him as “a left-footed Van Dijk” when watching his performances on the pitch for the first-team.
Nsiala, though, has not been given a chance to build on that respectable start to his senior career with the Light Blues, as he has not played a single minute this season.
That is why Rohl should finally unleash the left-footed defender against Livingston if Cornelius is unavailable for selection, as he is a left-footed defender who has proven that he can perform in the Premiership.
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The 21-year-old, given these new injury blows and Djiga’s disappointing form, deserves an opportunity to show that he can play a role for Rohl moving forward, starting with the game on Saturday.