Jamie Murphy could have a big role to play for Rangers this season after initially being ruled out for the rest of the campaign.
Steven Gerrard revealed at his media conference on Tuesday, as quoted by the club’s official Twitter account, that the winger is “working really hard” in his recovery from damaged knee ligaments and expects him “to come back firing”.
??SG: Morelos will be back available for tomorrow, Rossiter and Katic played in a reserve fixture yesterday. Jamie Murphy is working really hard to make his body as strong as possible, I expect him to come back firing but he won't be rushed.
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) December 18, 2018
Gerrard explained that the club’s coaching staff are looking for summer signing Murphy “to help us in the final half of the season” after, as reported by BBC Sport, ruling him out in August for the rest of the campaign.
??SG: Dorrans is progressing well also, we hopefully will have him back for the end of January/February. Dorrans and Murphy are two key players for us in the final third of the pitch and we are looking for them to help us in the final half of the season.
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) December 18, 2018
OPINION
The earlier-than-expected return of Murphy is a huge boost for Rangers and their fans. The wide man, who was signed from Brighton in the summer window after impressing on loan in the second half of last season, is a key player who would slot into Gerrard’s first choice XI if everyone was fit and available for selection. He creates and scores goals, and has the creativity and final-third quality in tight spaces, to add a new dimension to a sometimes mediocre attack overly reliant upon Alfredo Morelos. Murphy made an immediate impact when he joined in January and his efforts in a Rangers jersey have been impressive. In 27 appearances for the club, the former Motherwell man has scored six goals and supplied 13 assists. Those are the sort of numbers lacking from the likes of Ryan Kent, Daniel Candeias, Scott Arfield and Glen Middleton, as well as they have done at various times this season.