Abdallah Sima has been included in the official Senegal squad for the African Cup of Nations, meaning he could now miss up to five games for Rangers.

The official Rangers partner shared the news on Twitter, with Sima possibly missing games against Dumbarton, Hibernian, St Mirren, Livingston and Aberdeen depending on Senegal’s progress in the tournament.

With AFCON running from 13 January to 11 February, the forward could be missing for almost an entire month of games in a bitter blow to Philippe Clement’s side.

A big miss for Rangers

Sima is the top scorer at Ibrox this season, with his 14 goals in all competitions proving vital to Rangers’ progress not just as they close the gap to Celtic in the SPFL but also to their Europa League campaign with his three goals helping them to top the group.

In the league, Sima has provided nine goals and two assists in 18 appearances, proving to be the most reliable source of goals in the forward line despite the struggles of the likes of Cyriel Dessers and Sam Lammers alongside him as summer signings.