The Ibrox treatment room has been busier than your average doctor's surgery these past 12 months.
But Rangers boss Michael Beale is confident waiting times for his top stars to return from injury will be slashed next term as he looks to consign the Light Blues’ sick-note snags to the past. The Londoner was brought in to remedy Gers’ concerning Premiership plight back in November. His prognosis wasn’t overly optimistic to begin with, though, as he inherited a team ill at ease with the ceaseless pace being set by Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic.
Matters were certainly made worse, however, as a relentless list of bumps, bruises and more serious knocks foiled his efforts to nurse the team back into the title race. It’s easier to name the Ibrox first-team stars who have not been laid low this term by injury and the debilitating outcome of those absentees means the Rangers faithful now face having to swallow the bitterest of pills as their bitter rivals close in on yet another Treble. The casualty list should clear over the summer with the likes of Kemar Roofe and Tom Lawrence expected back ahead of the new campaign. And Beale is praying a clean bill of health will make for a brighter diagnosis for next season’s trophy prospects.
He said: “I think it’s been frustrating for Rangers in general, the fans and everyone around the club. You look at this season and the amount of football Connor Goldson has missed.
“Steven Davis, Filip Helander, Roofe, Lawrence. Ridvan Yilmaz was out for most of the season, Rabbi Matondo out for three months. Malik Tillman and Ryan Kent have missed periods.
“When you look at it as a football club, we have not had the strength of our squad this year. Our points total [92 points], I don’t know how many times Rangers have finished with this points total in the last 15/20 years. I think it’s just when we won the league.”
Beale, with a sarcastic grin added: “So with that bad a team, with all those injuries, we’re that bad a team. I have got to be optimistic because I am the guy in the seat and we will freshen it up. That’s what everybody wants and it’s important that we do that, and then we will go again.”
So what’s been the root of the problems that have left the Ibrox docs rushed off their feet? “I would say that there has not been enough stability around the players,” admitted Beale.
“When I came in in November I was the third manager in just over a year. And in that time we have had a change of doctor and a change in lead physio as well.
"There have been 15/16 staff that are working with the players on and off the pitch, different ways of training. So I think all of that needs to stabilise. Physios get to know your body and everyone is treated differently, it’s not one-size-fits-all.
“It’s very bespoke. When you have a lot of change around players at a club it’s not rocket science to say you’re going to have some injuries.”
But Beale insists that there was little the Ibrox medics could have done to prevent some of the blows the team has suffered this term.
He said: “Our biggest disappointment is that we have had some big injuries that no one could help – the Helander one, the thing with Kem's shoulder, Tom Lawrence. You can’t help those.
“Everyone saw what happened to Goldson in the game against Liverpool, it was a freak thing. Those things you would like to think won’t happen again, they are one-off things.
“In terms of soft-tissue injuries, we are always looking at that closely and that’s an area where there has been a lot of change around the players. This summer everyone will get a decent break and the international players will get another two or three weeks after that. We are hoping that pre-season will help clear that up.”
Beale is certainly looking forward to having Roofe back fighting fit. The frontman showed his class when he returned from a six-month lay-off to fire the winner in January’s Viaplay Cup semi-final triumph over Aberdeen - only to then suffer a damaged shoulder that immediately put him back out of action.
A further hip issue which required surgery brought his season to an end before it had even got started. But the Ibrox gaffer hopes the former Leeds ace can now maintain his steady course having rejoined the road to recovery.
“He would certainly be a bonus,” said Beale. “We decided for him to go and have the hip operation that has been troubling him for a long period of time now to see if that solves the issues he has been having.
“He is back out running now so he will start pre-season with the team. Him and Tom, I’ve not really been able to use either of them. I have not even seen Tom in training.
“Tom will probably be three or four weeks behind Kemar. That will be nice for Kemar because last year he started pre-season and had an issue within two days. So let’s see where we are at. He was our top goal scorer in the year we won the league but it is important that he shows when he comes back that he can be the player we know.
“I do feel for him. I had a long conversation with Fil Helander before the final game of the season. I was here when we signed him and he is a heck of a player. He has missed out on a lot of international games and big games for Rangers as well.
“It’s not easy with a family away from home. Kemar has got a young family that were originally based in England. They are here now and they are here for their dad to play football.
“Kemar is a really strong-willed guy, a really tough exterior, but you have got to make sure that he is in a good place. I think being out on the pitch and being pain-free is a big step for him so let’s see how pre-season goes.”
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