Joe Aribo walks suspension tightrope before Aberdeen & Celtic clashes

Nigeria International Joe Aribo is walking a suspension tightrope ahead of a tough festive run with the Nigerian international one booking away from a game ban against Aberdeen or Celtic, BSNSports.com.ng reports. Joe Aribo, 25, has picked up five league bookings already this season with the midfielder’s sixth set to trigger a suspension 14 days from the point it was given. Under current SFA rules, that means Joe would miss the trip to Pittodrie to face Aberdeen if he was booked against St Johnstone and the Old Firm clash with Celtic if booked against Dundee United. If the attacking midfielder is booked any later than this then he would serve his suspension after the winter break – potentially whilst he is on Africa Cup of Nations duty with Nigeria. Rangers will be wary of the suspension situation surrounding the midfielder and as a result may not be willing to risk him in the weekend’s match with Dundee United.

Losing Joe Aribo to suspension would be sizeable blow to Rangers

Ibrox manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst has some big decisions to make regarding Joe Aribo in the upcoming matches with a booking ruling him out of one of two of the biggest games of the season. Remarkably, Joe Aribo has six bookings in all competitions for Rangers this season making him the Ibrox side’s second most booked player behind Alfredo Morelos. However, Alfredo has only picked up four of his bookings in the Scottish Premiership and as a result is two away from a ban in the upcoming games. Aribo is widely regarded as the Rangers Player of the Year frontrunner and the thought of losing the ex-Charlton man for the trip to Parkhead is not a pleasant one. Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst has also been speaking about Joe Aribo’s immediate Rangers future amid high-profile links to the Premier League. The Dutch coach claims that Rangers are “positive” regarding his current contract situation despite the player having only 18 months to run on his deal.