Rangers news: Medical expert issues intriguing claim after Filip Helander hospital sighting
Rangers star Filip Helander could be available to face Braga on Thursday (14 April) despite the fact he has been spotted on crutches.
That is the view of injury expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in medicine and data analysis.
Helander, 28, went down and was replaced by Leon King shortly before half-time in Rangers’ eventual 4-0 win at St Mirren last Sunday (10 April).
It was later revealed that the Swedish centre-back, who was out for five months with a knee injury earlier this season, has a foot problem.
As documented by the Daily Record after the St Mirren victory, Helander was pictured arriving at hospital on crutches.
Rangers go into the meeting with Braga needing to overturn a one-goal deficit to continue their Europa League journey.
And Dinnery claims that the defender is not necessarily ruled out of the upcoming quarter-final second leg.
“Fans will always read into the fact that he’s been spotted on crutches and see that as a really bad sign,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“But that can be a little bit of a red herring. It isn’t always the case because the last thing you want to do as a medical team is take any chances.
“So, you will always look to protect that area from any potential further damage until it’s assessed.
“If imaging comes back and clears the player, fine. But if the worst is confirmed, then you’ve done the right thing to protect it from the beginning.
“You can see players with a knee brace, cast and crutches and they can be fully fit the next week.
“That isn’t always the case, of course. But it isn’t away reflective of the severity of the injury.“
Rangers also face Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-final on Sunday (17 April).
Helander has scored twice in 11 appearances this season.
In other news, Rangers offer Alex Lowry £5,000-a-week as new talks lined up.