There are two rules of thought when it comes to Ianis Hagi; we need him more than we previously realised or, in his absence, he has become a better player than he actually is.
Of course, there is an element of truth in both sentiments in that Hagi could frustrate during games, but he was also capable of producing the one moment of magic needed to win a game. With Joe Aribo no longer at the club, and Tom Lawrence and Alex Lowry injured, we have been left with Scott Arfield and Malik Tillman trying to fill the void to varying degrees of success.
The Romanian playmaker could soon be returning to full training and give Giovanni van Bronckhorst further good news as he targets a return to playing in the coming months, putting to bed any reports about set-backs in his recovery, as reported by The Rangers Review:
“I’m fine, I’ve seen a lot of talk in these almost nine months. Many gave their opinion where it was not known. My injury was very clear from the first episode of the documentary I posted.
“It is an injury with a recovery period of 9-12 months. There was no problem coming back earlier.
“There was a lot of talk, but there was no point. I’m fine, it’s not been nine months since the operation. I’m on the right track.
“It’s a long-term operation, there are also moments when you stagnate, it’s part of the recovery. You have to accept it.
“It’s more of a mental injury than a physical one, but I’m very good mentally, happy. I feel strong. It won’t be long before I recover. Everything is fine, stop listening left and right.”
Hagi will obviously take time to get back up to speed but just having him training and on the bench will give the squad a massive boost. At times this season we have been seriously short of creativity and he is one player who isn’t content with playing horizontal passes and is more than happy to pull the trigger from in and around the box.
The 23-year old had been played wide right, as a central midfielder and as a number ten when Gio first arrived at the club so it will be interesting to see where he is picked when he is available again. I still think that, in domestic football, he should be playing in a deeper and central position where we get the best out of the timing of his runs into the box, passing and vision rather than wasting him stuck out on the wing where he isn’t known for being able to beat players 1 v 1.
I don’t think he has become a better player in his absence, however, it’s pretty clear that the type of player this Rangers team is crying out for is one with Hagi’s skillset, a return to action can’t come soon enough.