According to the reports from the Scottish Sun, Rangers winger Ryan Kent has resumed training, and he is on the verge of completing his full comeback from injury. The winger is said to be pushing for a return to first-team football after he was spotted training yesterday.
In Kent’s absence, Gerrard’s men have done well as they have managed to get on top of the table in the Premiership. However, they succumbed to a last-minute defeat against Young Boys in the Europa League. Kent has been missing in action since the last month when he was thrown into action straightaway after Rangers managed to sign him under spectacular circumstances on the final day of the transfer window.
Kent limped off with a hamstring injury after just playing 40 minutes against Livingston. It was really naive on Gerrard’s part to hand him a start straightaway after he was in limbo with Liverpool. Gerrard though has seemingly learnt his lesson as he indicated earlier that they wouldn’t look to rush him back.
How could Gerrard manage his game time?
Rangers will take on an out of form Hearts this weekend, and then they will travel to Portugal to take on Portuguese heavyweights Porto. The Bears have shown that they have the squad depth and quality to deal without some crucial players, but there is no doubt that Gerrard would be delighted to have the former Liverpool man back.
Kent should be slowly eased into the picture, and we think that the English winger should start on the bench against Hearts. Maybe a 20-30 minutes cameo will be ideal later on which will keep him fresh for the big clash against Porto.
Kent’s importance against Porto and for the rest of the season
Rangers might have to play that tie on the counter-attack and Kent will then become a crucial player given his pace and ability to carry the ball forward and go past men in one on one situations. Porto will be favourites for the win, but we don’t expect Gerrard to throw in the towel before the game. The 22-year-old winger will definitely have a crucial role to play in that clash.
Kent will look to have the same impact which he had at the back end of last season where he became clinical and threatening in front of goal. The pressure will be on the winger as well to deliver this season given the fact that Rangers opened their vault to sign him for £7m. Anything less than a league title will be considered a failure, and there is no doubt that Kent will have a significant role to play in Rangers achieving something meaningful this season.
