The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Gerrard backs injured winger as season ends
Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has backed Jamie Murphy to be a key player for years to come after the winger was ruled out for the season.
Tests showed Murphy had damaged his cruciate ligament when he twisted his knee on the Rugby Park surface during Rangers’ victory at Kilmarnock on Sunday.
The former Motherwell, Sheffield United and Brighton player signed a threeyear contract when his loan stay at Ibrox was made more permanent in May and Gerrard has assured the 28-year-old he remains a major part of his long-term plans.
Gerrard said: “It’s sad news for Jamie. I’m bitterly disappointed over it. He will be missing for the remainder of the season.
“He’s got an ACL injury and we got the news we all didn’t want.
“He’s coming to terms with it now but at the beginning he was upset, as you can understand.
“He’s a player who loves playing the game and he’s been excellent for me since day one.
“We are trying to look for the positives out of it now and it’s important Jamie does everything he can in terms of his rehab and comes back in the best physical condition he can come back in.
“But we’ll give him every bit of support he needs from now until the moment he comes back for us, and we will stick with him. He’s a very important player for us for many, many years.
“(We are) disappointed he will be missing for the rest of the season but we’ll be waiting for him next season for sure.”
Gerrard stated on Sunday that he believed elite football should be played on grass but he refused to say whether he blamed Kilmarnock’s artificial pitch for the injury.
“It’s not important now,” he said. “The important thing is that we have lost a very good player. So that certainly weakens us.
“The important thing now is the player and his welfare and we need to give him every bit of care.
“We’ll make sure we send him to the right people, the experts that he needs to see, and we all stick with him and help him. Because it’s a tough, lonely place when you are out for that long.
“But I’m sure all the players and myself will give him the support he needs to keep his spirits up and we’ll get him back as soon as possible.”