Since leaving Feyenoord for Rangers in the summer of last year for a fee of £6 million, Danilo has struggled to find success.
The Brazilian striker cost the Gers a lot of money to get to Ibrox, but since then, he has sustained three serious injuries that have restricted his playing time.
After suffering a face fracture in a goal-scoring incident against St Johnstone, the masked Danilo was welcomed to Scottish football with great abruptness.
The former Ajax attacker, who is naturalised for the Netherlands national team, then sustained a terrible knee injury in December that prevented him from playing until the beginning of this season.
However, Danilo was once again contained just as he was starting to revert to his previous level of play, even scoring in the 6-0 thumping of Ross County.
Since Danilo’s most recent knee injury was thought to be so severe, he was left out of Rangers’ Europa League roster.
Although Philippe Clement is now anticipating the striker’s return to training, will the samba star be able to persuade Rangers fans that he has what it takes to lead them to victory this season?
Danilo is scheduled to resume training at Auchenhowie.
Danilo should be back in first-team training when the team returns from its international break, according to Philippe Clement.
Oscar Cortes is expected to be sidelined for a lengthier period of time due to an injury sustained on the training pitch, according to the Rangers management.
In addition to Ridvan Yilmaz, who hasn’t been spotted since Dynamo Kyiv’s Champions League loss, Danilo is “expected” to return to Auchenhowie within the next two weeks.
“Maybe Danilo and Ridvan (Yilmaz) in training,” Clement remarked.
Prior to this most recent knee injury that has kept the striker sidelined since the beginning of September, Danilo has made just two appearances for Rangers this season.
Although there will be some concern over Danilo’s return, Rangers desperately need a dependable finisher at the top of the pitch as their front line becomes less and less consistent.
Rangers need the £6 million striker to produce more.
This season, the Rangers’ striking options have not stopped drawing criticism.
Despite having a strong start to the season with seven goals thus far, Cyriel Dessers has failed to score in his previous four games.
Dessers was left off against St Johnstone at Ibrox and seemed angry as a result of being ignored by the Nigerian national squad.
Although the 21-year-old Moroccan striker Hamza Igamane is an intriguing addition to Rangers, he has not yet scored in Ibrox colours.
Throw in the club’s erratic returns from out wide and suddenly Rangers have a serious challenge in terms of reliable goalscoring at the top end of the pitch.
Given that Danilo is a £6 million player, there is implicit expectation on the unfortunate striker to perform well right away and begin repaying Rangers’ signing money.
However, it’s still uncertain whether the striker will be able to contribute at Ibrox because the team is concerned about his recurring injury issues.
Hopefully, Danilo’s injury nightmare with the Rangers comes to an end during the October international break, and the striker can soon begin to produce.
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