John Souttar admits he ‘wasn’t 100% honest’ with Rangers staff ahead of debut
John Souttar has revealed he “wasn’t 100% honest” with the club’s medical staff ahead of his Rangers debut, according to the Daily Record.
The defender joined from Hearts last summer, but last just 67 minutes against Livingston on the opening day of the season as he was forced off with an ankle injury.
He has since undergone surgery on that ankle and has only just returned to the first team after seven months out, now admitting that it was a mistake to rush into his debut.
“I probably wasn’t 100 per cent honest with the medical staff,” Souttar told the Daily Record when discussing his Rangers debut. “It’s just in my character to play through those sort of things.
“Looking back, I should have said I couldn’t play – but that’s me. That’s what I am. The last six months have been difficult. Signing for Rangers, you have all these expectations in your head of how it’s going to go.
“It didn’t pan out the way I wanted at the start for one reason or another. People will probably say I’m injury prone but you’ve got to be mentally strong within yourself. You’ve got to have that self-belief and focus. You can’t listen to anyone apart from yourself.”
Back to basics
It’s been a long road to recovery for Souttar, who was expected to play a major role in the club’s push for the Scottish Premiership title this season.
But his eagerness to play through the injury got the better of him, and while it is a mistake that he cannot take back, it is one the defender can definitely learn from.
Souttar is now back on the pitch, playing 12 minutes in the league victory over Motherwell earlier this month.
And it is not just his club career that he is trying to get back on track, with the defender understandably missing out on a place in the latest Scotland squad, having been included in previous squads under current boss Steve Clarke.
Both Clarke and Rangers manager Michael Beale will be glad to see the centre-back return ahead of many important matches for both Scotland and the Scottish Premiership club.
In other Rangers news, Daily Record journalist Fraser Wilson believes that the wages of Billy Gilmour would be a major stumbling block for the club if they tried to sign the Brighton midfielder this summer.