Michael Mols admits concern for Rangers star Niko Kranjcar’s long-term fitness

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Former Glasgow Rangers striker Mols has an understanding of what the Croatian is currently going through.

Michael Mols has admitted that he is concerned that Rangers star Niko Kranjcar’s knee will never return to full strength if he has sustained anything like the injury that he suffered during his Ibrox career, the Evening Times reports.

Mols had also been enjoying his first season with the Gers when he sustained a serious injury during a Champions League clash with Bayern Munich following a collision with Oliver Kahn.

Michael Mols

And having spent several months working to get back into the team, Mols knows what is likely to be ahead for the 32-year-old – who sustained his injury in a freak training ground incident – and while he stressed that he hoped that Kranjcar would receive some luck, he explained how tough it would be for the midfielder to get back to his best.

“It’s a hard progress for him and until we know what kind of injury he has then it will be even harder because it is that sense of the unknown,” he said, as reported by the Evening Times.

Ranger’s Niko Kranjcar in action with Burnley’s Scott Arfield

“I hope he gets the best scenario and he gets a speedy recovery. The effect on the knee will always be there. As with the cruciate injury I had, the knee will never be the same.”

Worryingly for Rangers, The Scottish Sun has claimed that the Croatian’s debut season with the Light Blues is now over as he faces six months on the sidelines.

Rangers manager Mark Warburton

But he will perhaps be taking some strength from the way that Mols bounced back following his 10-month absence from the first-team.

Though Mols took a long time following his comeback to re-establish himself as a regular, he still managed it for two seasons before his departure in 2004. And as Kranjcar was starting to show what he was capable of in the weeks leading up to the injury, it would not surprise many if he managed to make a significant contribution when he does return.