- Danny Rohl confirmed that Derek Cornelius had been allowed to depart for international duty early.
- He insinuated friction between the pair – but refused to go into detail.
- The door remains open for a return – but only after a conversation has been completed.
Rangers head coach Danny Rohl spoke with the media today ahead of Aberdeen’s visit to Ibrox on Saturday evening, with the Derek Cornelius situation under the spotlight.
That was one of the main topics the German coach touched upon, in what is clearly an ongoing matter still to be resolved.
International blame
Despite this, and him being unavailable since November due to injury, he received a call up to his national side this week.
Rohl gives his take
Now, Rohl has given his own take on the situation.
He confirmed he had released the player early to head off to North America.
“He will travel today to the national team,” Rohl revealed.
“I gave him the opportunity to go earlier to the national team.
“In the end it’s about the club but I will support Derek to ensure that he is available for the World Cup.”
This is unusual, given Rangers have a fixture this week against Stephen Robinson’s Dons.
Managers rarely release players early unless they are not in the immediate plans.
Now, Derek Cornelius has been injured, but given he is now fit enough to receive a call up, surely, he should be fit enough to remain in Scotland, even if just on standby.
The way back
As reported earlier, the demotion is not necessarily permanent, with a route back touted as possible.
“I had two conversations in the last couple of days with Derek,” Rohl explained.
“I will have a conversation when he comes back then we will see which direction it goes.”
But he refused to go into detail over any potential issues with their relationship.
He said: “I think Derek and my person are very clear, we need one more conversation after the international break.”
“All these things between Derek and me, it’s between us. This is crucial. I have my principles.”
On his status and where he is training, Rohl was less clear.
“He trained with us and in the last couple of days more individually,” he said.
Now, this is factually true but will lead to discourse over the recent news.
Cornelius has been training with the first team in recent weeks but has been moved down.
It is understood that he is yet to have his first session with the younger group, which is possibly why this phrasing was used.
Whether he ever does is up in the air – depending on the conversations between player and coach upon his return from Canada.
But for now, Cornelius remains out of the picture.
Read Rangers analysis
This leaves Rangers with three options for the Aberdeen match: Nasser Djiga, Emmanuel Fernandez and the out-of-sorts John Souttar.
This leaves Rangers one injury away from a crisis, and no matter the issues behind the scenes, Rohl still may be forced to call upon the exiled stopper.
But when situations like this arise – the way back into the picture is a much longer road than the one leading to the issue.
