'Disappointment' for 18-cap Rangers ace accused of 'looking rusty' | OneFootball

Rangers defender Filip Helander ‘looked a bit rusty’ after making his long-awaited return from injury, according to senior Gers journalist Chris Jack.

The 28-year-old has endured a very frustrating season so far, with a knee problem restricting him to just 661 minutes of action across all competitions.

What is the latest news involving Helander?

Helander’s time at Ibrox has been plagued by fitness concerns since his arrival from Bologna via a £3.5 million deal, limiting him to just 57 appearances in that time frame.

The 18-cap Sweden international got off to a promising start in the current campaign, though, starting three of Rangers’ opening five Scottish Premiership fixtures, bagging the only goal in their Old Firm derby victory over Celtic.

However, a knee injury picked up in September required surgery, keeping Helander out of action until he made his comeback against Annan Athletic in the last-16 of the Scottish Cup.

A goal and a clean sheet on his first start in over four months marked the 6 foot 4 monster’s return to action in emphatic fashion, but that joy was to be short-lived.

Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst selected Helander from the off against Dundee United in their top-flight encounter in the following domestic fixture, and the step-up in opposition proved to be too much.

The Scandinavian giant was beaten far too easily in the air by United’s Ross Graham, allowing the defender to head home from a corner and earn the hosts a valuable point.

What has Jack said about Helander?

Helander was substituted after 73 minutes at Tannadice as Van Bronckhorst went in search on an equaliser and was awarded a match rating of just 6.2 by WhoScored, the second-lowest amongst his teammates.

And Jack believes the centre-back will ‘certainly be disappointed’ with his performance against the Tangerines.

He told GiveMeSport: “I thought at Tannadice, he looked a bit rusty. Perhaps lucky to get away with the one on (Marc) McNulty in the first half, certainly could have done better for the goal.

“I think he was beaten to the jump and beaten in the air too easily by Ross Graham. And he will certainly be disappointed by that.”

Can Rangers win the league title?

Helander hasn’t been part of Rangers’ last two matchday squads against Borussia Dortmund after incurring a fresh fitness worry before being omitted against Motherwell despite recovering in time.

The Glasgow giants managed to pull off a famous 6-4 aggregate victory over Dortmund in his absence but failed to capitalise on Celtic’s slip up after the Well held them to a draw last time out.

Nevertheless, with just a three-point gap between themselves and their bitter rivals at the top of the table and two more Old Firm derbies still to come, Rangers will surely be hopeful of retaining their crown come May.