Long-serving skipper Lee Wallace is set to return for Scottish Premiership giants Rangers, but that does not mean he will be starting ahead of Declan John.
It has been over five months since Lee Wallace last turned out for Rangers.
The club captain and long-serving left-back has not been seen since mid-September thanks to a groin injury which required surgery but, with a Scottish Premiership clash against Hearts looming large, speculation has intensified that Wallace could be back in the frame.
Forcing his way back into the starting XI, however, may be easier said than done.
Because, in his absence, Declan John has thrived and made his loan move from Cardiff City permanent in the January transfer window.
The 22-year-old Wales international has scored three times and set up two more in the Scottish Premiership this season. And although he is far from faultless defensively, prone to the odd lapse in concentration, John’s attacking output means he has become one of the key players in Graeme Murty’s side.
Some Rangers fans have argued that Wallace, for all his qualities and experience, does not deserve to simply saunter straight back into the side and pick up where he left off.
At 30, the Scotland international is not quite the same player he was in his younger days and, with John improving all the time, his immediate return to the starting XI perhaps would not make a lot of sense.
With Wallace and Bruno ready for first team action do they both come straight in? For me Alves does but Wallace doesn’t.
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