Gerrard expecting Arfield to be sidelined for rest of month
Steven Gerrard fears Rangers will be without Scott Arfield for the rest of their crucial January run.
The midfielder sat out last weekend's Old Firm win over Celtic after damaging ankle ligaments against Hibernian on Boxing Day.
That 1- 0 victor y over Neil Lennon's team opened up a 19- point lead at the top but the Ibrox side still have to prove they can go the distance having seen their title push blow up in each of the past two seasons. They now face a pivotal string of fixtures before the month is out which could go a long way to deciding their Premiership fate, starting with tomorrow’s trip to Aberdeen.
They then face visits to Fir Park and Easter Road either side of their Ibrox showdown with Ross County but will have to cope without key man Arfield as Gerrard confirmed he is unlikely to return in January.
"Scott's about to come out of a boot that he's been in since the injury," said the Rangers
boss. "He's got quite a significant injury. He's progressing well but in the short term Scott will be missing. What I would say is that knowing Scott, and if he keeps progressing as he has, you are looking at probably the end of the month all being well.
"It's an injury that you can't really rush and push, as much as you want to. So we are probably looking at four to five weeks for this type of injury.”
To make matters worse, K em arRoofe will also be absent for this weekend' s Dons clash after lasting just 45 minutes against Celtic before a quad injury forced him off.
But Gerrard had better news on Ryan Jack's progress as the midfielder looks to make his comeback after more than a month out with a persistent knee problem.
He said: "There's better news on Ryan Jack, who has been outside and had two or three sessions and is progressing extremely well. If that keeps moving in that direction he should be back with the team sometime i n the middle of next week."
Gerrard also confirmed he is set to trigger Rangers' option t o exte nd Leon Balogun's one- year deal after the Nigeria international's impressive displays since moving north from Wigan back in the summer.