One of the positions that hasn’t really been nailed down this season has been that of Filip Helander’s old spot as Rangers first choice left-sided centre-half.
The big Swede lost just one league game in his time at the club, even if this statistic is softened by his woeful appearance record.
After just a handful of appearances in the last two seasons, it looked like Filip Helander might be finished, however, a move to Odense has seen the ex-Rangers defender recalled by his national team manager.
Filip Helander comeback complete after Rangers exit
The 30-year old won’t be back to his best just yet but he has now came through five appearances for the Danish outfit unscathed.
The foot injury that he sustained in the infamous 2019 league cup final returned with a vengeance last season as he failed to recover from a relapse in April 2022, the decision to delay surgery costing him game time for Rangers.
An injury that Steven Gerrard described as rare and one that isn’t straight forward to treat seems to be behaving for now.
Because of his injury problems, it wasn’t a surprise when Filip Helander wasn’t offered a new Rangers contract.
Bought for a reported £3.5m when he signed from Bologna, he brought a positional sense that we haven’t really replaced.
There is a reason his Old Firm and European record is so impressive.
If he had managed to get himself fit for the second half of last season then he might have had a chance but we couldn’t afford another big earner spending most of their time in the treatment room.
Hopefully, Filip Helander can keep himself fit and put behind him the problems he had at Rangers.
His last goal for the club was one that should have been a catalyst for a title defence, if he had stayed fit then it might just have been.
