There was no pressure on Nicolas Raskin to return from injury against Kilmarnock – but the Rangers star wasn’t going to let that stop him.
The 22-year-old midfielder came off the bench for a late cameo in the Scottish Premiership win over the Rugby Park side at Ibrox, ending nearly three months of pain for the Belgian.
Replacing Todd Cantwell, it was a welcome sight for Rangers fans with Nicolas Raskin returning from injury after sustaining an issue way back in early October against Hearts.
Having been stretchered off the park, there were fears the problem could’ve kept young Nico out for a very long time but as explained by Philippe Clement, the kid has pushed himself hard to make a return.
Philippe Clement: Nico wanted Rangers return
Speaking after the win over Kilmarnock, Philippe Clement explains that Nicolas Raskin had the time to get over the injury ahead of next week’s warm-weather training camp.
But such was the youngster’s determination to get back on the park for Rangers, the manager was delighted to give Raskin some minutes and mark a return from the issue, the specifics of which have never been clarified by the club.
“Yes it’s important that we get players back and Nico worked really hard all this time to come back as fast as possible,” said Clement.
“So it was a little bit of a reward from my side also towards him that he could take a few minutes and get the feeling again to be on the pitch after all the hard work that he’s done.
“To be here, he could’ve taken one week more to be ready for the training camp but he was hungry to be back as fast as possible so I’m happy that the circumstances were there that I could give him something back.”
The return follows an Instagram post in which Raskin detailed his excitement about getting back on the training pitch.
Nicolas Raskin sets injury attitude benchmark
Whilst the injury return of Nicolas Raskin is certainly positive, Rangers still have a range of issues in the squad which are yet to be resolved.
No fewer than six first-team players are going into the winter break nursing issues and the comments of Philippe Clement stand as a stern warning to the team.
If, like Nicolas Raskin, players work hard to get back into the squad from injury as soon as possible then they will be rewarded.
But for those not fully committed to the cause and not willing to push themselves for the side one suspects they won’t be around at Ibrox for much longer.
Rangers are currently without defensive options Ben Davies and Borna Barisic, with a left-back reportedly high up on the club’s transfer agenda this summer.
Tom Lawrence and Ryan Jack remain midfield absentees whilst at the top end of the park, Brazilian striker Danilo and perennially crocked hitman Kemar Roofe remain sidelined.
