The Rangers squad appears to be in rude health just now. Other than the long-term injury of Jamie Murphy, Rangers have, almost, a fully fit squad. There are a few players returning from injury and therefore aren’t 100% yet but they aren’t far away. Graham Dorrans, Borna Barisic, Scott Arfield, Jordan Rossiter, Eros Grezda and Gareth McAuley all need game time before they can be classed as fully fit, but they are available.
Other than the next international break in November, Rangers have a congested fixture schedule between now and January. There is a host of big games on the horizon for both the club and the fans. It will be a refreshing change to go into these with Gerrard having decisions to make.
There has been a noticeable reduction in the number of leaks coming from the club recently. Funny that. One thing I’m not sure about though, why the secrecy about player injuries?
What do we want?
Every human being, therefore, every footballer, will react differently to the same injury and rehabilitation process. When a manager says, “they have a hamstring and will be out for 4-6 weeks”, we assume they will be match ready in 4-6 weeks. Fans have more access to information than ever before. Why not say, “they have a grade two hamstring strain and should be back in full training in 4-6 weeks”.
When journalists ask about injured players it is almost a token gesture. More detail, more specificity, that’s what we, as fans, want. Why can’t we be told that Barisic is pain free and is progressing into full contact training? That Grezda, Rossiter and Dorrans are now fully fit but need to gradually increase their training volume. An explanation into why they aren’t playing so that they don’t break down again.
We get a weekly update on our players that are out on loan, why not an update on the players that are injured? This could include the type of training they are doing. This would help a lot of fans to understand what the players are going through and why they might take longer to return to form. It could include interviews with the players to help them stay involved with the club’s social media. Question and answer sessions on twitter, things like that to keep them involved.
When do we want it?
Jamie Murphy has posted a couple of his own videos as he continues his recovery from his anterior cruciate ligament injury. It would be great if the club could do more to include these players in the training videos that are regularly produced. Why the secrecy with player injuries, by not informing the fans it only makes it harder for the players? Fans fill the information gap.
Jordan Rossiter has been injured for almost two years but for nobody to come out and explain the issue he has had is strange. You couldn’t even argue it might affect the player’s value. Players have to undergo a medical at their next club anyway. Is there scope for a member of the medical or conditioning team to be part of a weekly update during a press conference? Ultimately, fans care about their players and want to know how they are doing.
Hopefully, one day, we will see greater transparency with player injuries. Fans love information. As far as we are concerned we have a (nearly) fully fit squad for the big games coming up. Thankfully, the games are on proper grass pitches too which means that anyone who has had an ankle or knee problem in the last 5 years doesn’t miss out!
*Author’s note – this article was written before Steven Gerrard’s press conference where it was revealed that Graham Dorrans is seeing a surgeon. How has he gone from fully fit to having to be referred to a surgeon? As the title says, why the big secret?*
