When Danilo fractured his face against St Johnstone back in September, you could almost hear then Rangers manager Michael Beale let out a loud yelp.
The Brazilian striker, 25, had just begun to show fans why the club spent £6m to bring him from Feyenoord with some neat forward play, and ruthless finishing.
The absence of Danilo, who was Rangers’ biggest outlay of the summer and the club’s biggest signing since Ryan Kent (£7m in 2019), has had a devastating impact on the season.
The cost of his transfer, and subsequent injury absence, was also one of the main reasons why Michael Beale lost his job.
Fast forward to the tenure of Philippe Clement and the Belgian probably let out the exact same yelp when the striker injured his knee against Hearts in December.
Having scored a last minute winner against the Tynecastle club weeks previously, Rangers lost the striker for the season when he was injured in a crunching challenge.
But now, after six long months in recovery, Danilo has uploaded a video of himself running with the ball in images which are sure to raise hopes ahead of next season.
Danilo back on grass at Rangers training centre
In a clip uploaded to the striker’s official Instagram stories, Danilo can be seen dribbling with the ball at the Rangers Training Centre.
The striker can also be seen passing the ball into the back of a net whilst he goes through one-to-one training with a Rangers coach.
The clip also follows on from Danilo uploading a picture of himself wearing a pair of boots for the first time in months back in April.
Uploaded with the caption ‘CAN’T STOP, WON’T STOP’, it’s clear Danilo is hungry to get back into the Rangers team and to start making a difference.
Danilo has used Instagram as a place to provide regular updates on his fitness but whilst it’s good to see the striker back on the grass, Rangers fans won’t see him at Ibrox again this season.
Ibrox striker out for season with injury
That’s after Rangers manager Philippe Clement confirmed that Danilo is one of three players who are set to miss the remainder of the campaign.
The Belgian boss was speaking as he also ruled Connor Goldson and Oscar Cortes out of contention until next season.
With Ridvan Yilmaz returning v Kilmarnock, Ryan Jack is also expected to come back before the end of the campaign.
There are however doubts that both Rabbi Matondo and Abdallah Sima will be able to play again although there remains hope we could see either or both back in the weeks ahead.
Injuries have a lot to answer for this season and it’s clear Philippe Clement doesn’t believe the situation is accidental.
The strength and conditioning of the Rangers squad has been so sub-par over the last 24 months that it’s cost us time, money and most importantly silverware.
It has got to change and Danilo is now tasked with staying fit, working on his robustness and paying back that hefty chunk of £6m change to the Rangers support.