One of Rangers biggest problems this season has been conceding goals when opposition teams have only had one or two attempts, part of the problem being that both Leon Balogun and Filip Helander have been missing for large parts of the season.
The big Swede in particular has been a huge miss given that he first broke down in September and is still returning to full fitness, the giant stopper having only started a couple of fixtures since being given the go ahead to start playing again.
Speaking to the media on international duty, and reported by The Herald, Helander explained how frustrating a season he’s had:
“Physically, I feel great. I have not played that much after the injury, but it is great to be able to run again. My fitness is good.
“It’s not fun to be injured. During rehab time, it does not feel like you are part of the team so it is never good. Now I have put it behind me and as I said, it feels good now.”
For a centre-half, aerobic fitness isn’t the biggest issue; timing headers, reading passes and positional awareness are attributes that don’t come back overnight after a long time out but, with another couple of weeks training, he should be approaching full fitness by the time the Old Firm derby comes around, memories of his headed winner still be fresh in the memory.
He’s understandably gutted to have missed out on a place in the Europa League squad but, given his problems this season, keeping him fit for domestic duty is in the best interests of both the player and the team – individually, Helander and Balogun are good players, but as a pair, their fitness is inextricably linked with our hopes of success this season.