James Sands in potential Rangers debut waiting game if USA call comes

dailyrecord.co.uk:

James Sands has had a whirlwind couple of days after sealing his 18-month loan move to Rangers. The young American was pictured at Ibrox as he became Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s first signing for the Scottish Premiership champions.

But Sands could soon find himself back on a flight across the Atlantic if he receives an international call-up. And that could even see him on a World Cup qualifying collision course with new team-mate Scott Arfield, if he ends his international hiatus.

The race for Qatar is hotting up in the CONCACAF section with the USA facing a huge triple header against El Salvador, Canada and Honduras.Sands wasn’t included in Gregg Herhalter’s squad for the friendly win over Bosnia & Herzegovina in California in December.But he won his seventh international cap in the 4-1 away qualifying win over Honduras in December after featuring in all six games in their Gold Cup success.Herhalter is due to name his squad for the the upcoming fixtures and if Sands is included then it would rule him out of a quick fire Gers debut.

The games take place on January 27 and 20 and February 2 - the same night as the Ibrox side face rivals Celtic. Both sides are already facing the prospect of missing key men due to rescheduled games as a result of the winter break being brought forward.New boy Sands now falls into that category and he could go head to head with Arfield if he makes a return to the Canucks.It was against the USA when Arfield won the last of his 19 caps for Canada but there has been confusion since that appearance just over two years ago.