Steven Davis has finally broken his silence on the injury issues which have completely curtailed his 2022 and admitted any new contract is on the backburner as he struggles to regain health.
The stalwart midfielder, 37, was strongly speculated by Ibrox Noise as someone who may well be coming to the end of his natural playing life, and has earned the right to leave the stage on his own terms.
The problem is his 3-month injury blight, which began immediately after the return from the winter break, has been exacerbated by a follow-up injury, and at his advanced years, Davis isn’t healing and regaining fitness as quickly as he’d want:
“Hopefully I can get a bit of game time (with NI) and get myself in a better place. It’s been difficult. Obviously after the winter break, I picked up an injury in the first training session back which kept me out for a few weeks. And then I was back involved and I kind of felt I was getting into a good place again and getting my rhythm again, but obviously then picked up another one.”
There’s no shame in that, but he has also added that contract talk is the last thing on his mind.
In reality, Rangers are unlikely to offer him a new playing deal – once a player hits injury prone at his age, there’s rarely any route back.
Davis has been a real pro and looked after himself tremendously well, but to the best of our knowledge this is the most he’s missed in his whole career with injury, and we would be very surprised if he can defy the odds against him placed by biology and return fully fit any time soon.
He has earned a role at the club, we’re sure he has a tonne of wisdom and he is well respected, but by his own admission he’s struggling to get back playing and Rangers fans should prepare themselves for a slim chance of seeing Davo back any time soon.