Rangers news: Medical expert delivers ‘eight-months’ Ianis Hagi prediction after critical update
Ianis Hagi may have missed eight months by the time he returns to competitive action for Rangers.
That is the view of injury expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in medicine and data analysis.
Hagi has undergone surgery on a knee injury sustained in the 4-0 Scottish Cup win over Stirling Albion last month (21 January).
Initial forecasts suggested the 23-year-old would need six months to recover.
The playmaker is the son of ex-Real Madrid and Barcelona superstar Gheorghe Hagi.
As per the Daily Record last Sunday (13 February), Hagi senior claimed that the Ibrox man will need “two months” to hit top form upon his return.
And Dinnery claims that it could indeed be August by the time that the Romanian has fully recovered.
“He’s been out from January,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“The assumption is that pre-season is going to start in June, so it could be August before he’s back.
“He’s missed the bulk of the campaign and won’t be able to build up that competitive fitness through the pre-season programme.
“He will be more in that maintenance phase when he is ready to rejoin the group. Ultimately, when he is back, it could be an integrated return.
“So it could be five or six weeks after he’s back that he gets his first start. So when you look at that two-month timeline, that’s not going to be far out.
“So we’re talking eight months in total. After any period out, there is a need to acclimatise back to that competitive environment.”
Hagi had netted four goals and supplied four assists in 27 appearances across 2021-22 before his injury.
Rangers have surrendered the lead in the Scottish Premiership in his absence and currently trail Celtic by one point.
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