When Walter Smith returned in 2007, there was little he did wrong. Indeed, the Old Master turned Rangers round overnight and back to the best team in Scotland in a manner of days.

His impact was extraordinary, but there was one mystery which puzzled a few fans at the time, and 11 years on, Walter may have finally explained what was going on.

As supporters will remember, Walter came in to replace the hapless Paul Le Guen, but while he made excellent use of PLG’s squad and brought in a few critical recruits, Belgium’s Thomas Buffel found himself making only a handful of appearances for the new regime.

It was a great mystery – why was one of the club’s most talented and creative players cast out and rarely seen?

Indeed, the player even said Walter had promised him game time, but it didn’t materialise.

Why not?

Speaking ahead of the Legends game on Saturday at Ibrox, Walter has hinted at what went wrong for Buffel under him.

He said:

“Thomas is just nearing the end of his career, he’s still playing away, which is nice to see after the major injury problems he had at Rangers.”

Buffel was rarely in a Walter match squad for 06/07, with just one appearance against Dumfermline to speak of. And while it felt at the time like Walter just didn’t fancy the player, it seems this new comment suggests the Belgian international was more blighted by injury than anything else.

We always knew he had injury troubles, but it seems they intensified in 2007 and that’s why Walter wouldn’t play him.

Buffel will be at Ibrox for the Legends match, and you can pick up your tickets here.