Rangers striker Kemar Roofe is set for another spell on the sidelines with a groin injury which requires a scan.

The 30-year-old came off at half-time in the 4-0 Viaplay Cup win over Livingston at Ibrox on Wednesday night.

Roofe has been bedevilled by injuries since signing for the Light Blues from Anderlecht in 2020 and ahead of the visit of Aberdeen in the cinch Premiership on Saturday, Gers boss Michael Beale confirmed the former Leeds forward would miss that game at least.

Beale said: “He is away for a scan so no news on that one at the minute. He didn’t train today with the rest of the team.

“Until we get the news back from the scan, we don’t really know what we are dealing with. It is not an area which has ever been an issue before.

“Obviously it is disappointing for Kemar because he came back into the team and did so well until the other night.

“He said he felt it halfway through the first half and I would like him to hold his hand up. Then he felt he could continue on and at half-time I asked if there was an issue and he said ‘yes’ so then we take no risks with him.

“Let’s hope it is nothing too serious and he will be available in the short term rather than the long term.

“At this moment in time tomorrow is too soon. It is frustrating because he is such a big player and such a very good player.

“It is hard because he has not been available as much as he likes for three managers, not just myself.

“It looked like he was in a really good place, he was contributing well. He just felt a niggle and came out and the right thing is to get the scan and he is for that this afternoon.”

After six games without a win – including a 2-1 defeat by Eintracht Frankfurt in their Europa Conference League opener – Aberdeen have beaten Ross County in the cinch Premiership and Viaplay Cup in their last two outings and Beale is expecting a tough challenge.

He said: “They’re a team that’s built around their front two (Bojan Miovski and Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes). They’ve got good players, they’ve come off an important week for them.

“I thought they performed very well in Europe. It was a defeat but in terms of the performance, it’ll give them a lot of encouragement and then they’ve beaten Ross County twice this week so they come into it the same as us.

“Their front two have caused us problems in the past as well, from last season. The games have always been close and we know there’s always a little bit of edge in the air between the fans which I think is healthy as well.”