Whilst a routine Scottish Premiership win over Livingston grabbed the headlines for Rangers, the starting display of Tom Lawrence wasn’t missed.
The Welsh playmaker was instrumental in breaking Livingston’s stubborn defence and in a wholly positive display proved exactly why amidst a 12 month absence he’s been sorely missed by Rangers.
Teeing up the opener for Cyriel Dessers, the perfectly-weighted through pass exemplified a positive and intelligent performance for a potentially secret weapon in Rangers’ arsenal.
Since signing from Derby County last summer – a club whom the ex-Manchester United youth captained – injury has besieged his Rangers career.
Tom Lawrence Livingston return understated
Starting brightly after joining the club, a devastating knee injury ruled Tom Lawrence out for the entirety of last season and has hampered him and the squad in this campaign.
Earning a returning start v St Johnstone in September, the Rangers playmaker was pegged back by another injury and Tom Lawrence was offered a new lease of life starting against Livingston.
Such an influential performance has been kept under the radar by VAR controversy and the emergence of Ross McCausland but it cannot be understated.
If Rangers manager Philippe Clement can begin to get the best of the Welsh international they will have a player of genuine to quality competing against the Scottish Premiership.
It’s far too early in his recovery to get carried away – and Rangers fans have been burnt in this regard before – but this is a genuinely positive development at Ibrox.
Plenty has been made about the devastating impact of injuries in Glasgow and until we get some consistency in availability the nervousness around the situation will persist.
But the sight of Tom Lawrence getting on the ball and proving a threat against Livingston is a welcome one and whilst it never grabbed many headlines, it’s certainly been noted.
