OPINION
Rangers boss Steven Gerrard will have been sweating buckets when in-form winger Ryan Kent suffered a hamstring injury a couple of weeks ago.
Kent had been one of the Gers most impressive performers in the weeks prior to his injury, and Gerrard will have been devastated to see the Liverpool loanee break down amid so many important fixtures.
In fact, Kent’s injury has provided Gerrard with an opportunity to test his squad depth, and the emergence of youngster Glenn Middleton as a genuine first-team player has eased his worries.
In the three games that Kent has missed so far with injury, Middleton has scored two goals and registered three assists, and that is a hugely impressive haul for the 18-year-old.
Despite his incredible form, you would think that Kent will slot straight back into the side when he returns from his injury, unless Middleton does even more to convince Gerrard of his worth in the coming fixtures.
On Wednesday, Gerrard provided an update on Kent’s recovery, confirming that the Liverpool-owned winger is set to return to full training after the weekend, as quoted on the club’s official Twitter account.
??SG: Slightly too soon for Borna Barisic tomorrow, with him having missed a month of football it is just too soon. Ryan Kent should be back in full training after the weekend.
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) November 28, 2018
That means that Kent will be missing for their Europa League clash against Villareal on Thursday, and their Premiership match against Hearts on Sunday.
These are essentially the two games that Middleton has to try and nail down his first-team spot at Ibrox, with Kent likely to be back in contention to face Aberdeen on Wednesday.
The 18-year-old winger must be on the top of his game for both matches, starting with their crunch Europa League clash against Villareal on Thursday.
Nothing less than two exemplary performances will convince Gerrard to keep the teenager in the side over Kent, who is fast becoming a favourite of the Liverpool legend.
Middleton must now buckle down and put in the two performances of his life or inevitably find himself out of the side at some point next week.