Rangers likely to bring player in from cold after new injury blow

The Athletic reports that after suffering yet another injury blow over the weekend, Rangers are likely to bring James Sands in from the cold right away.

The American moved from midfield, where he started, to defence, with the latter being where he is expected to shine, after Ben Davies was forced off with a new groyne problem.

It would serve as an illustrative example of Giovanni van Bronckhorst bringing in a player at Ibrox from the cold, though he is speculated to disagree with that theory.

“After the break, when he moved back alongside Leon King following Ben Davies going off with a groin issue,” he wrote.

Jordan Campbell discussed the likely state of play in the Rangers dressing room following yet another setback in his most recent article for The Athletic.

“He is likely to move back into midfield and the balance was much better as it stopped the counter-attacks through the centre of the pitch, which have plagued Rangers in recent times.

“If he cements himself in this new role, which allows Lundstram to attack the box more, it would be another example of Van Bronckhorst being able to bring a player back in from the cold. The Dutchman likely does not see it like that.”

Van Bronckhorst has not helped himself in recent weeks and months with his continued strange selection decisions, such as only just using Ridvan Yilmaz ahead of Borna Barisic, whether or not it is due to the pressure he is under.

The American has been reliable enough and wasn’t in the kind of shape that would have justified being completely benched and absent from the field for weeks.

Van Bronckhorst is currently throwing a lot of information at the wall and hoping that something sticks; however, he may have finally found the solution in Sands.

There aren’t many people who have stood up and been counted during these difficult times, whether in that midfield role or at the back where it is desperately needed.

It will be intriguing to see which team is chosen for that Champions League matchup against Ajax, as options are currently dwindling with each match that goes by.