OPINION
Rangers have been pretty lucky when it has come to injuries this season with very few setbacks which have been hugely detrimental to their squad.
Manager Steven Gerrard has obviously focused on building up a side that has good quality in depth and that has been crucial to keeping standards high at Ibrox, with at least one decent back up option for every role.
One area where it could be argued the boss has had to call upon a second choice star is at left back, where Jon Flanagan has been a regular with defensive rival Borna Barisic ruled out for a number of games due to a calf injury.
The Croatian was actually the first choice under Gerrard at the start of the season but his absence has meant that the former Liverpool man, naturally a right back, has filled in adequately on the left.
With Gerrard admitting that the former NK Osijek man was closing in on a return, stating to the BBC that he was “very close” to a return and could feature against Livingston, the sight of the 26-year-old on the training ground, as posted by the club’s official Twitter account, would have been exciting for fans clamouring for his return to the side.
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) November 22, 2018
With a caption featuring just two emojis – the eyes and the waving hand – could this be a sign that he is ready to return for the Gers?
Unfortunately for the Ibrox faithful, this post is only likely to end in disappointment.
Perhaps the most notable thing to take away from the training ground snaps are the fact he is training by himself, suggesting he is yet to return to take part in full squad sessions – a sign that a player is not yet back to full availability after his layoff.
He has been out for quite some time and so risking the injury in full contact training would be the final step before a return, and the fact he is still taking part in solo sessions suggests Livingston may come too soon for him.
It might be a post to excite the Rangers faithful, but they should take it with a pinch of salt.