Bruno Alves has not played for Glasgow Rangers since December, but appears to be nearing a return for the Ibrox side.
In a week that has seen James Tavernier commit his future to Rangers by signing a new deal and the Daily Record report that Alfredo Morelos is ready to follow suit, it appears that the Gers are set to receive another boost – this time, on the injury front.
The Light Blues have posted a series of pictures from one of their training sessions ahead of their trip to Hamilton in the Scottish Premiership this weekend, and amongst them is an image of Bruno Alves running alongside Lee Hodson, Jason Cummings and David Bates.
Alves has not played for Rangers since limping out of the most recent Old Firm clash during the early stages of the game at Parkhead, so the fact that he is clearly getting back towards full fitness is a major boost for Graeme Murty.
While it is obviously not clear from the photo how close Alves is to getting back to full fitness and becoming available for selection once again, the fact that he is clearly running at a decent pace is surely a very encouraging sign.
Alves’ spell at Ibrox has certainly not been an overwhelming success thus far, but having him back will be a plus for Murty with a number of first-team players either sidelined due to injury or gradually making their way back to full fitness.
Whether he will come back into the side when he is fully fit remains to be seen. David Bates and Russell Martin have started all but one of the games together since the end of the winter break, and have started to form a very strong partnership.
But while Alves may face a battle to get back into the team with Bates and Martin impressing, there is no doubt that having him back available leaves Rangers’ squad in a much better place heading into the business end of the campaign.
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