Kemar Roofe proved he’s still got the finishing touch as he stepped up his injury recovery in a Rangers B team clash against Dundee.
The 31-year-old striker made his return to the first-team in the 5-0 demolition of Hearts on Saturday before starting the B Team clash at the Rangers Training Centre.
Playing 45 minutes in the eventual 5-3 victory, Kemar Roofe also managed to find the back of the net as Rangers carefully manage the forward’s return from a succession of injuries.
One of the club’s highest-earners and most talented attackers, a fully fit and firing Kemar Roofe could be a devastating addition to the Rangers forward line in the final third of the season.
Kemar also wasn’t the only Rangers striker who was rebuilding his fitness in the clash with Dundee, young hitman Zak Lovelace also starting for the B Team.
Philippe Clement managing Rangers striker return
Rangers manager Phillipe Clement has previously claimed that the club would be managing Kemar Roofe’s return from injury.
Signed in the summer of 2020 in a reported £4.5m deal from Belgian side Anderlecht, Roofe’s Rangers career has been blighted by serious injury issues season-after-season.
The last two campaigns in particular have interrupted Roofe’s progression at Rangers and with his contract coming to an end in the summer, raised doubts about an extension.
Speaking back in October, Rangers manager Clement said:
“We need to take a really good look at that because he has been struggling for a long time with the same things.
“It is important to find the reason for that and not always find the solution to get him fit for the next game and struggling afterwards again and going game by game, but really going to the cause of the problem.
“I cannot say anything about that (how long he will be out), we first need to make a really good assessment of how to bring Kemar back in a way that he can be a long time back and not a short time because that has been the case the last couple of months, to get him fit for games but struggling in between so we need to get him really fit.”
Kemar Roofe rebuilds with B Team
Having returned briefly for the side – and scoring the winning goal in the decisive 3-2 Europa League win over Real Betis – Kemar Roofe picked up yet another problem in December.
As is normally the case with players returning from lengthy and consistent lay-offs, they will pick up repeated niggles as their bodies get used to the rigours of the professional game.
As Kemar Roofe continues to build his fitness in the B Team clash with Dundee, it’s a positive step in the right direction as Rangers manage the forward’s return in the right way.
Who knows, perhaps Roofe can even fire Rangers to glory this season, win a contract, and settle the unfinished business he has at Ibrox once and for all.
