Helander relieved to reach end of hard road to recovery
FILIP HELANDER put in the hours over the days and weeks on the road to recovery but his time away from football quickly became months as 2020 turned into a year to forget.
Now he is taking every 90 minutes as it comes as he continues to improve and impress for Rangers and looks to help Steven Gerrard’s side end a decade long wait for the Premiership title.
When Helander was injured in the closing stages of the Betfred Cup final defeat to Celtic last November, he knew he faced a lengthy spell on the sidelines. The Swede could not have imagined it would be the Europa League game with Bayer Leverkusen this month that would see him complete a full game once again, though.
He now has three successive starts and clean sheets to his credit as Rangers have beaten St Johnstone and Kilmarnock and drawn with Livingston and his performances have been typically assured and steady.
The lockdown that ended the campaign early had a huge impact on everyone at Ibrox but Helander’s eagerness to get back playing was perhaps more intense than most after a difficult spell out of action due to a foot injury.
“It was kind of the worst moment for me,” he said. “I was out for a long time and when I came back there was Coronavirus. There was a big break and I wasn’t able to play, so for me it was a long time without football.
“Obviously that is never good and in many ways it’s tougher mentally than physically.
“Of course, I spoke to the manager during the time I was injured, I was at the training ground everyday trying to work hard. I was there when the guys arrived and I was there when they went home. When you are injured you have longer days. You are just around the training ground and you have your rehab to do.
“Being around the team helped a lot, I still felt involved. When you don’t feel involved then it’s harder. You feel as though you are far away from everything, you don’t feel like a football player anymore.
“But the club have been helping me a lot. I have been injured before, but perhaps not like this and for this length of time.
“I am back now and more I play the better performances will be.”
The three shut-outs Rangers have recorded whilst Helander has been in the side came after Aberdeen and St Mirren were denied a goal in the opening two games of the campaign.
Gerrard’s men have now the the beaten the run of four clean sheets recorded by the Iron Curtain defence at the start of season 1949/50. If another is recorded against Hamilton this weekend, a club record from two decades previously will be broken and a place in the history books will belong to the current Ibrox crop.
Helander said: “Of course you feel very proud of such an achievement, but as I have said already it’s not about only the defence.
“It’s about the whole team and the work that everyone is putting in. From the strikers down to the keepers everyone is working hard. There is a real focus on what we’re trying to do defensively.
“We are trying to play the same way, even if it’s with different people. At the moment it’s me and Connor [Goldson], but Leon [Balogun] started the season and George [Edmundson] still has to come in too. There is genuine competition and that is better and better for the players.
“Guys coming in tend to adapt very quickly and that is down to the hard work we are putting in.
“Kilmarnock defended in a low block so it was difficult at times. As defenders we tried to help the offensive players and we played much better in the second half. We were able to relax after we scored the first.”