As Rangers confirm the exit of Filip Helander, the player’s continuing injury problems could wreck a potentially romantic return to Sweden with Malmo.
Filip Helander joins Allan McGregor, Scott Arfield, Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos in being a quintet of previously key first-teamers leaving the club for nothing.
It is an example of the substantial change whistling through Ibrox after a season of disappointment, and Helander can’t have any complaints.
Signed in a reported £3m deal from Serie A Bologna in 2019, big Fil has proven himself an astute, capable and high-level defender at Ibrox, but only when he has played.
Injury record devastates Big Fil’s Rangers career
The Swedish international’s injury record has been quite astonishing and Helander hasn’t even kicked a ball for the club this season.
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In fact, he only played 11 games for the Ibrox side last season following a knee injury in September and, despite a brief return at the end of the campaign, he has been a sick note ever since.
In four years at Rangers, Helander has played only 36 Scottish Premiership games and the player’s situation sums up a transfer policy that has seen the Ibrox squad bloated with crocks in recent seasons.
Those injury woes look set to follow Helander out of Rangers, with no update on the defender’s situation despite being linked with a return to Malmo.
Filip Helander’s Malmo return under threat
Back in January, the Swedish outfit were linked with a return for Helander but, since then, the defender has been unable to get himself fit.
Malmo sporting director Daniel Andersson then claimed that the club would “see how the situation is” with Helander come the transfer window.
As the big centre-back – who was pivotal in that 55 title winning season – is released by Rangers, we don’t expect Malmo will be too keen to strike a romantic return given the player’s devastating injury record.