Rangers midfielder Bongani Zungu set to depart Ibrox this summer following Covid-19 lockdown breach

Zungu was one of five Ibrox players fined by Police Scotland in the early hours of last Sunday morning for attending an illegal gathering of 10 people in a flat in the West End of Glasgow.

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The midfielder, who was issued with a fixed penalty notice along with Calvin Bassey, Brian Kinnear, Dapo Mebude and Nathan Patterson, has been disciplined by his club and ordered to self-isolate along with his team mates.

However, the incident is likely to have consequences for the 28-year-old midfielder, who has made 18 appearances during the 2020/21 campaign, going forward too.

Rangers, who are engaged in ongoing dialogue with the Scottish government and the SFA about the Hyndland Five affair, brought in the South Africa internationalist on a season-long loan from French club Amiens back in October.

They have the option to sign the player, whose last first team appearance came in the disappointing 1-1 draw with Hamilton at New Douglas Park a fortnight ago, for a £2.7m fee this summer.

However, there now appears to be no chance of that happening following his breach of coronavirus rules and it is even highly doubtful he will play another game for Rangers again.    

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Asked if Zungu had damaged his chances of extending his stay with the Premiership leaders, manager Steven Gerrard said: “I think that would be fair to say, yes.” 

Gerrard, whose side play Dundee United at Ibrox in the league this afternoon, stressed that he is confident the other Rangers players have been unaffected by the controversy.

“They have moved on,” he said. “We spoke as a group and I explained the situation to them. We put it behind us. We are at such an important time with the fixtures coming up that we can’t be worrying about that situation and letting any of our focus slide. 

“Because I don’t think that would be respectful to Antwerp or Dundee United. We need to give these opposition our full respect and focus. 

“That (the breach) will all take care of itself and we move forward with the players who have remained professional and want to be part of a successful team moving forward.”