SPFL international round-up – Rangers suffer two injury blow, while Celtic and Hearts duo qualify for Copa America.

Rangers suffer double injury blow.

Ridvan Yilmaz, Rangers’ left-back, is set to miss time after suffering an injury while playing for Turkey. The 22-year-old earned his seventh cap in Friday’s 1-0 win over Hungary, but was forced off after only 27 minutes due to a thigh injury.

Yilmaz has been ruled out of Tuesday’s game against Austria and has returned to Ibrox for treatment and diagnosis. The Turkish football federation announced in a statement that “A mandatory change has been made in the candidate squad of our National Team, which will play against Austria in a special match on Tuesday, March 26. Our defender Rıdvan Yılmaz was removed from the candidate squad due to the injury he suffered in his upper left thigh muscle in the match against Hungary yesterday.”

In a further blow to Rangers, winger Ross McCausland has been ruled out of Northern Ireland’s upcoming game against Scotland. The 20-year-old missed Friday’s 1-1 draw in Romania, and manager Michael O’Neill says he is unlikely to play at Hampden on Tuesday. “Unfortunately, it looks like Ross McCausland won’t make it,” O’Neill said of the 20-year-old. “It would have been nice to get Ross the opportunity.” Yilmaz and McCausland are now in a race against time to be fit for the upcoming Old Firm match against Celtic on April 7.

Celtic and Hearts both qualify for Copa America.

Celtic’s Alistair Johnston and Hearts forward Kenneth Vargas will play tournament football this summer after helping their respective countries reach the Copa America finals. Johnston played 90 minutes as Canada advanced with a 2-0 play-off victory over Trinidad and Tobago, which included St Johnstone’s Dan Phillips. Meanwhile, Vargas came off the bench to help Costa Rica secure their place in the playoffs with a 3-1 victory over Honduras, who were missing Celtic winger Luis Palma due to injury. Canada, which includes Motherwell striker Theo Bair, will face defending champions Argentina in Atlanta on June 21. Celtic defender Cameron Carter-Vickers could also play in the tournament after the United States qualified last year, though the center-back has been left out of recent squads due to injury.

Celtic duo earns Ireland caps

Celtic teammates Adam Idah and Mikey Johnston came off the bench to help Ireland earn a respectable goalless draw with Belgium in Dublin on Saturday. Idah came on as a 70th-minute substitute for Brighton forward Evan Ferguson, who missed a first-half penalty, and Johnston, who is currently on loan at West Brom, replaced Sammie Szmodics a minute later. Jamie McGrath, Aberdeen’s midfielder, remained an unused substitute. Ireland will host Switzerland on Tuesday.

No second cap for O’Riley.

Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley was left on the bench as Denmark and Switzerland drew 0-0 in Copenhagen. The 23-year-old earned his first cap against Northern Ireland in November and will hope to play when Denmark hosts the Faroe Islands in a friendly on Tuesday.

Other notable appearances.

Dimitar Mitov, a St Johnstone custodian, kept a clean sheet in his third Bulgarian appearance, a 1-0 victory over Tanzania. Aberdeen striker Bojan Miovski scored the opening goal for North Macedonia in their 1-1 draw with Moldova. Ianis Hagi, a Rangers winger on loan at Alaves, came off the bench in the 75th minute for Romania’s 1-1 draw with Northern Ireland in Bucharest.

In other news, Confirmed: kickoff time, date, and TV information for Manchester United vs. Coventry City FA Cup semi-final