Rangers haven’t exactly had any luck with injuries this season and now one of the club’s most expensive players could be set to leave for nothing in perennial crock Filip Helander.
The big Swede is still recovering from a foot issue which initially seen him limp off in the 1-0 Betfred Cup Final defeat of 2019 and make a stellar return to the Ibrox side, before the problem reoccurred over a year ago.
But responding to the reports surrounding the big defender, someone close to the player has been speaking to the Scottish Daily Express and gave an injury return timeline for the defender.
According to the source, Big Fil should be playing again by February or March – brace yourself for the latter – and it is believed he’ll make a full recovery.
“It has been such a frustrating time for Fil but we can now see light at the end of the tunnel,” claims a source close to Filip Helander.
“We thought that the injury had cleared up in the summer and Fil was feeling good as he took part in pre-season training. He went with the squad to Portugal and then in one of the sessions he felt the problem again and it was back to square one.
“He went back to see a specialist and it was decided to have an operation. The surgery has been a success and now he’s just going through the whole rehab process which will still take time.
“The hope is that he will be back in training in the early part of next year and then playing again in February or March.”
Filip Helander return does little to solve Rangers contract dilemma
Missing the bulk of last season and all of this one to date, Swedish international Filip Helander isn’t exactly going to be on peanuts and is symptomatic of some serious injury-related issues at Ibrox.
When a player who cost a reported £3m and who is a high-earner gets injured for any team with Rangers’ budget, then he’s going to be sorely missed and there is unlikely to be anyone to replace him.
The problem is that Rangers’ squad is full of these sorts of players with Helander joining Connor Goldson, John Souttar, Ianis Hagi, Tom Lawrence, and Kemar Roofe in being hopeful post-World Cup punts this season.
Whilst it’s all well and good saying Filip Helander will be back around March, the season will almost be finished – if it isn’t already – and then there are only two months to get fit and prove he’s worth a new deal.
As things stand, Filip Helander’s Rangers contract expires in the summer and we’re not exactly convinced that the player’s future lies at Ibrox.
In fact, we’re convinced one of two things are going to happen with the 29-year-old.
Filip Helander will either sign a new three-year contract at Rangers and spend two of those years injured, or he’ll sign on somewhere else and be an ever-present world beater. Guaranteed.
Meanwhile, one Rangers media partner has been responding to rumours regarding a Giovanni van Bronckhorst press conference.
