Michael Beale has been tipped to give John Souttar all the extra time he needs to get back from his Rangers injury woes.
The centre-back was heralded as a big arrival from Hearts in the summer, after he battled back from another Achilles problem to find himself in Scotland contention again. But he picked up another injury after the first Premiership game of the season away to Livingston. He's doing individual training at Auchenhowie as per Beale's latest update but former Ibrox goalkeeper Cammy Bell expects him to be given breathing space to make a long-term return.
He notes it's been the toughest of starts for Souttar in Govan and Bell tells Superscoreboard that sending him back even just shy of full match sharpness could run the risk of another lengthy lay-off: "It has been a horrendous start for John Souttar to his Rangers career. He's obviously had big injuries at Hearts as well so it's a big disappointment for John.
"They have time but even if they didn't, would they rush him back? I don't think so with his injury history.
"I think he is given extra time to be 100% when he goes back onto the pitch as I sometimes think when players have picked up loads of injuries, especially if they go back at 80% fit. Chances are they will break down again.
"They will want to make sure he has had two or three weeks of full training before he even he enters the field in a proper game."
