Steven Gerrard finally provided an update on a promising Gers striker on Wednesday afternoon, as captured by RangersTV.
Last week, we posed the question, ‘where is Zak Rudden?‘ The teenager enjoyed an excellent loan stint at Falkirk last season, scoring twelve times in the Championship.
As a club, The Bairns endured dreadful campaign, but the loanee stood out and claimed all the major awards at their end of season dinner.
He then reported back to Rangers for the start of pre-season but didn’t take part in any Development or first-team matches. Now, we know why.
“We have a youngster still here at the moment in Zak Rudden, who’s just come back from a knee injury,” said Gerrard, when asked about striking options beyond Alfredo Morelos and Jermain Defoe. “So, he’s part of the squad at the moment.”
Rangers striker Zak Rudden fit and in contention
Clearly, a relatively serious injury is what has been keeping the youngster out of the limelight.
It’s certainly unfortunate for him that after a breakout 2018/19, he suffered a setback and missed the chance to impress the manager in pre-season.
Judging by his language here, it is possible that the 19-year-old could soon be off on another loan spell. Yet, until that time comes, it seems he will be training with the first team and available for selection.
He may even be eyeing up next weekend’s League Cup tie against East Fife, as a chance to make his competitive debut.