Crocked Filip Helander claims he will have to wait until the summer to find out his future at Rangers as he nears the end of his Ibrox contract.
The Swede has not kicked a ball since featuring against St Mirren before the Scottish Premiership split last season, and has suffered numerous set backs on his lengthy road to recovery. It comes at time when Rangers have been in desperate need of centre-back options with with Ben Davies, Connor Goldson and John Souttar all enduring spells on the sidelines while inexperienced Leon King has been thrown in at the deep end.
With Rangers searching for a new boss following Gio van Bronckhorst's departure, the 29-year-old insists his time out of the first-team picture is almost at an end. However, he doesn't know if he will have a future in the Scottish Premiership beyond the end of the campaign as he awaits contract talks.
He told Swedish outlet Aftonbladet : "I do not know. My priority is to get back on the field first and foremost. Somewhere I am aware that I have to make some kind of decision before the summer. Whether we stay here or move somewhere else, we'll see."
Helander also opened up on the rocky road back as he admitted he had hoped to return for pre-season at the start of the current campaign. He reckons he could be back working under the next Rangers boss in February.
He said: "There have been a lot of injuries, but they have been injuries that have been difficult for me to do anything about. First it was the knee and then the foot. It has been hard.
"But there hasn't been much more to do than fight. Hopefully I've had my fair share of injuries now over the past year.
"I tried to rehabilitate the foot without surgery. When I was back in time for the pre-season last summer, I injured my foot again. It turned out that it hadn't healed properly and I needed surgery. That's why it's taken so long.
"Hopefully I can be back at the end of February or the beginning of March. There is a bit left. Everything in rehab has gone well so far."
He insists retirement has never been an option despite rumours ciculating online that his career was over. When asked if it had been something he considered, he replied: "No no. Never. With the surgery, this foot will be like any other foot.
"Besides, it's the right foot I had problems with and I could hardly use it before anyway... It's just a support leg. I have felt the support of the Rangers fans and I have a strong inner drive to get back and help the club in the spring."
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