Rangers fans are hopeful that Steven Gerrard will have two key players back available for selection for next weekend’s clash with Ross County as the Gers look to return to winning ways.
The manager was without three key regular starters for Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Motherwell, with Kemar Roofe, Ryan Jack and Scott Arfield all sidelined with various problems.
It was the ninth consecutive game that Jack had missed since picking up what was initially thought to be a relatively minor knock against Aberdeen in November.
Arfield has been out since sustaining ankle damage against Hibernian on Boxing Day and Roofe tweaked a quad during the first half of the Old Firm win at Ibrox earlier this month.
At Fir Park, the Gers missed the intensity and drive that both Jack and Arfield often bring to the midfield, while Roofe’s trickery in and around the area would also likely have been of great benefit.
Cedric Itten managed to salvage a point off the bench, though, to maintain the side’s unbeaten record, and based on a promising update provided by Steven Gerrard on Friday [RangersTV], supporters are hoping two of the injured trio will feature on Saturday against the Staggies.
Jack returned to full training on Thursday and was only held back from the trip to Motherwell as a precaution, while Roofe is expected to rejoin the group this week.
Here’s a selection of comments from Twitter:
https://twitter.com/54timeskings72/status/1351086381376954370
When fit and available, Jack has been a regular in the middle of the park ever since his transfer from Aberdeen in 2017.
Roofe is a more recent arrival, signing for a reported £3.5m from Anderlecht in August [Scottish Sun], but his impact at Ibrox has been huge.
The ex-Leeds United star has scored 12 goals and notched two assists across all competitions, with his link-up play and movement adding a new dimension for Gerrard in the final third.
Meanwhile, a summer signing still awaiting his first Premiership start looks to be facing an uphill battle to secure his Ibrox future.
