Lassana Coulibaly has flattered to deceive during his spell at Rangers.
The 22 year-old burst onto the scene during the opening fixtures, with a string of strong performances.
An untimely injury stunted his momentum. Since then, he has failed to reproduce his initial form.
However, the international break allowed the player to switch his attentions away from the SPL. Instead, his efforts were focused on African Cup of Nations Qualifiers with Mali.
Encouragingly, the midfielder played the full 90 minutes, as his team emerged from a trip to Gabon with a 1-0 win.
Pierre-Emerick Aubemayang picked up an injury which ruled him out of the fixture, and Mali capitalised on his absence. Moussa Doumbia – Coulibaly’s midfield partner – scored an early goal, before strong defending secured the victory.
The result leaves Mali top of their group, qualifying with one game to spare. The tournament takes place in Cameroon next year.
Rangers fans will hope that after time away and more minutes under his belt, the on-loan Angers man will regain the early season form that had promised so much.
With a physical encounter against Livingston up next, Rangers need Coulibaly back to his combative best at the weekend.
