The midfielder will be unavailable for Wednesday’s Betfred Cup quarter-final
Steven Gerrard has spoken of his frustration at Ryan Jack’s comeback being delayed.
The midfielder has been a key component of Gerrard’s side, but has been on the sidelines since November due to a knee issue.
It was initially believed that he would be able to return within a few days, but the process has dragged on for a considerably longer period than Jack or Gerrard would have liked.
He will once again be absent on Wednesday night when Rangers take on St Mirren at the Simple Digital Arena in the Betfred Cup quarter-final, and Gerrard is hopeful that he won’t be without the 28-year-old for too much longer.
As quoted by Radio Clyde, Gerrard said: “It’s moving along but a lot slower than we’d like.
“He hasn’t suffered a set-back as such, but maybe the original injury we got was maybe underplayed. The injury was maybe a little bit more serious from the beginning.
“We’ve tried to push him and get him back but you get signs and moments in your rehab where you’ve just got to come off and go a little slower.
“I don’t think it will be too long before he returns but when you love Ryan Jack as much as I do then you want him back as soon as possible, so it does feel like it’s been a bit of a slow one.”
In the same interview, Gerrard backed misfiring striker Alfredo Morelos following his frustrating afternoon against Dundee United at Tannadice.
The Colombian has netted just three times in 12 Premiership matches this afternoon, but his manager highlighted other areas in which the 24-year-old can help the team.
Gerrard said: “We’ve been really proud of what he’s given this season. He’s got a lot more team-mates who are capable of helping him in terms of the volume of goals that the team needs.
“We’ll do everything we can to support him and get him back to where we all need him.
“We don’t just analyse the goal return. We analyse how is Alfredo looking from a fitness point of view? What’s his application like in training? Does he deserve to start? What’s his hold-up play like?
“Is he doing the job for the team? is he counter-pressing? What’s his movement like? How is he around the place?
“We analyse lots and lots of different areas before we make a decision on whether he should be in the team.
“I don’t think it’s fair to only judge a player on goal return. There’s a lot more to it than that.”
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