ian1964 10,720 Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 MARK HATELEY has backed Rangers to get over the loss of Kevin Thomson through Barry Ferguson's return to the team. It's agony for ThomsonMidfielder Thomson faces several months on the sidelines after a scan confirmed he has severely damaged cruciate ligaments in his left knee. The 24-year-old's season is over and he will travel to London to see a top knee specialist on Wednesday as he starts out on the long road to recovery. While the former Hibs player will be sorely missed, it is likely club captain Barry Ferguson will replace him in the side after recovering from ankle surgery. Former Gers striker Hateley said: "Losing Kevin is a huge blow. We've seen how much he has improved since he came to the club and he was missed when he was out before. "He has been inspirational this season and his link-up play with Pedro Mendes has been great. They've been very solid and play well off each other.Barry Ferguson, Rangers "At the same time, Rangers have a quality player coming back into the team again in Barry and that is fortunate. "It is often the case that when a player becomes available again, the manager has a headache about who to pick and then one of them gets injured. "That has been the case here and now it becomes a simpler task to bring the skipper in once more. "The team could certainly have done without losing Kevin and it is never nice to see someone suffer that kind of injury. "It sent a shudder down a few peoples' spines when they saw the incident but at least there is someone to come into the side in his place. "Barry is a top-class player and has been for many years. When he's out of the side, the team is weakened but Rangers should get stronger when he comes back in." Lee McCullochWhile Ferguson is the obvious choice to replace Thomson, Hateley knows other players will be eager to come back into the team too. The likes of Lee McCulloch, Brahim Hemdani and Charlie Adam are likely to see this as an opportunity to challenge for a place. Hateley added: "When you look at the Rangers squad just now, most people are fit again and ready to play. "Lee McCulloch's available, Steven Naismith isn't far away from being fit again and Chris Burke is there too. "Steven Whittaker's another one pushing for a spot. He came on for a few minutes on Sunday and scored a great goal in that time. "It is great to have so many alternative options. The team has been short of them in the last couple of seasons but has an abundance of them now." 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie 8,552 Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 We're certainly not short of options... Lafferty, Edu, Ferguson, Burke, McCulloch, Whittaker, Novo, Beasley, Miller, Aaron, Adam and Hemdani can all play midfield and haven't featured too often lately. Anyone's guess who will start tomorrow. I'll go for Ferguson to replace Thomson and Edu to replace Novo. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisabeer 409 Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 it will probably be adam walter picks to replace thomson, though only god knows what our manager sees in him. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tannochsidebear 2,405 Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 I think it will be a midfield of Davis Ferguson Mendes Lafferty with Miller and Boyd continuing up front. Although Lafferty's position is far from secure and I wouldn't be surprised to see Novo retain his place or Adam/Whittaker/Beasley coming in for that last spot. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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