OPINION
With 15 new arrivals in through the door at Ibrox over the summer of 2018, it looked as though loan arrival Lassana Coulibaly was going to make perhaps the biggest impact at Rangers this season.
Arriving from SCO Angers on a season-long temporary deal, the 22-year-old impressed from his very first outing and has been an important member of Steven Gerrard’s squad, with 25 appearances across all competitions – including in every Europa League group game.
Things have changed though and the Mali international has not been seeing as much game time as he once did at Ibrox, having began the second half of the season without an appearance for the club – sitting on the bench as an unused substitute.
That is partly due to the arrival of midfielder Steven Davis, the former Gers star returning from Southampton and if Coulibaly thought his chances of game time were slipping away, he was handed another blow on Tuesday afternoon with a big training ground reveal.
The Light Blues took to their official Twitter account to post photos of midfield veteran Graham Dorrans, who has only played three times this season due to injury, back in first team training in a big boost to Gerrard and his men – and a hefty hit to Coulibaly.
?? After a long recovery, Graham Dorrans returns to full training. pic.twitter.com/EOrHqbRbT3
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) January 29, 2019
With huge amounts of experience and proven talent, Dorrans will be eyeing a first team return and with Coulibaly slipping down the Ibrox pecking order already he faces a serious battle to save his future at the club with the 31-year-old’s comeback.
Dorrans’ step up in training is great news for the club as a whole – but for his midfield rivals is it another challenge which has to be overcome and if Coulibaly cannot come through the fight his time at Ibrox will come to a swift end.