Ibrox side Glasgow Rangers have Bruno Alves fit again, but he’s on international duty.
The international break is boring for so many fans the world over; not only because it haults club football for two weeks, but because there’s always the chance that one of their best players will get injured in a match that the supporters don’t really care about, truth be told.
Rangers fans don’t have to worry too much in this regard seen as Ibrox isn’t home to a lot of international players anymore, but it would be typical if their best international – Bruno Alves – came back injured after playing for Portugal.
The Portugal stalwart has missed Rangers’ last two games through injury, but he will have worried fans of the Ibrox club on Wednesday by posting a picture of himself training with the national team ahead of two World Cup qualifiers this week.
The last thing that the Gers need is for such a big player not to come back in one piece and Pedro Caixinha should be furious if he plays and gets injured.
It would be Alves’s first game in over two weeks if he represents Portugal on Friday and, given it’s against Andorra, surely Fernando Santos will not start him.
At 35, Alves, who turns 36 next month, is far more prone to the odd niggle than a younger player might be and rest and recuperation is key, even when coming back from a relatively short absence.
He probably shouldn’t even be in the squad but if he plays and it backfires then the 62-year-old manager can expect a furious call from Caixinha.
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