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News
‘Hopefully’: Van Bronckhorst suggests he’s hoping he can pick 28-year-old for Rangers this weekend
Giovanni Van Bronckhorst has confirmed that Filip Helander is set to return to the Rangers after a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
Speaking to the press ahead of Rangers’ game against Hibernian on Wednesday night, Gio said
“Helander is really close to start getting minutes again. Hopefully, we can get him involved at the weekend.”
Helander has pretty much the whole season, accumulating 527mins of competitive action, featuring in only three league games and three European games.
Nevertheless, Helander did make an early impact in the season when he scored the winning goal in the first Old Firm game of the season, a victory for Rangers.
Rangers had a depleted squad at the time with several players, coaching staff and manager Steven Gerrard all missing through Covid-19.
The Swedish international for Rangers from Italian outfit Bologna in the summer of 2019, for a reported £3.5m fee. It was a big outlay at the time for Rangers, but he has since become a firm fan favourite at the club. Steven Gerrard once described him as playing at a “Champions League level”.
Despite not being blessed with pace, he has a great ability to read the game, his hard-hitting tackles have led to fans believing he is the best defender at the club — when available.
Helander has had a couple of injuries in his spell at Rangers, but they have been long-term injuries that have left fans frustrated. He has only played games since his arrival, 32 of which have been leagues, with the majority of them being in the title-winning season of 20/21. Rangers need more than that.
Helander is arguably Rangers best defender when fit
Connor Goldson and Filip Helander had formed a formidable partnership, and both complimented each other well. However, with Helander suffering from injuries, Goldson has had to be partnered with the likes of Leon Balogun, Jack Simpson, and Calvin Bassey, but none are as assured at the back as Helander.
Rangers fans have been eager for a Helander return and were told by the club that he would be expected back around December 2021. We are now in February 2022, and he has yet to feature.
Fans will be delighted with the news of his return. Most fans acknowledge his ability, but the harsh reality is long-term Rangers will need someone else to fill that position.
Hopefully ‘Big Fil’ can return and have as big an impact at the end of this season as he had at the start.
In other Rangers news, Van Bronckhorst delighted to be able to pick 25-year-old again