Rangers defender Filip Helander is now free to talk to suitor clubs about a move, with the Swede out of contract this summer, having had his Ibrox career completely dismantled through injuries.

Like former Rangers defender Leon Balogun, it is certain Helander will not be offered a new deal this summer, and is by the Bosman ruling free now to enter into negotiations with alternative employers with a view to securing a transfer this January.

The former Bologna man is ‘due’ to be back in February/March, but with his injury history we couldn’t possibly comment on that one, but it does offer any new employer a player who is close to a return, and would be freshly-recovered.

In truth, Rangers’ medical staff has come under criticism in recent times, with a plethora of injuries blighting the squad and long recovery times being a problem, with frequent setbacks a regularity.

Furthermore, ex-ref Steve Conroy criticised club medics for their treatment of captain James Tavernier after they let him back on the pitch following a horrible head knock and torrential nosebleed, which goes to show just how amateur the medical care at Ibrox appears to be at times.

So whether Helander’s injuries are just bad luck or there’s something incompetent going on behind the scenes, we couldn’t possibly say, but he will be free to move on this month if a transfer fee can be accepted by Rangers.

The point definitely is Helander is likely to be another of those perennially-injured players who moves on and doesn’t expect much if any injuries thereafter – Balogun, Dorrans and Rossiter being another three who became fit after moving on from Ibrox.

But it’s a crying shame, because he was a top defender when on his game and fit, with an excellent reading of the game and ability to use brute-force to its best when he was in the zone. It looks like he’ll move on, with suitor clubs happy to take an imminently-returning international for a nominal fee.

Time will tell where Helander goes to, but his Rangers career is a case of what might have been.