OPINION
Losing Ryan Kent to injury a couple of weeks ago was a big blow for Rangers boss Steven Gerrard, with the Liverpool loanee having become one of the club’s key players this season.
The 22-year-old winger had endured a slow start to life at Ibrox following his season-long loan switch from Anfield, but once he found his feet he transformed into a real force for Gerrard in attack.
A hamstring injury has unfortunately curtailed his progress, with Kent having to sit out for four games so far, but Gerrard has now confirmed that he is nearing a return.
Speaking in the pre-match press conference ahead of their Premiership clash against Hearts this weekend, Gerrard revealed that Kent was due back in training on Monday.
As quoted by the club’s official Twitter account, Gerrard did admit that he was unsure if Kent would be ready to face Aberdeen in their midweek clash on Wednesday.
??SG: No injury concerns from last night. Barisic and Rossiter are available for selection on Sunday. Kent is back in on Monday so not sure if he will be ready for Aberdeen just now.
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) November 30, 2018
Obviously Gerrard will be wanting to get Kent back into action as soon as possible, with the winger being key to his attacking play, but he must exercise serious caution with his return.
The nature of Kent’s injury, being an issue with his hamstring, means that the risk of aggravation will remain higher than with other complaints.
Obviously Gerrard will be aware of this, but with a gruelling Sunday-Wednesday-Sunday schedule coming up, he will still likely be tempted to play Kent as soon as possible.
With the Aberdeen game coming just two days after the winger returns to training, that game will surely come too soon, and Kent must be rested until the weekend at least.
Losing him for another period would be a disaster, and it will be in the club’s interests to miss him for one more game than several others after re-injury.