Glasgow Rangers of Scotland midfielder, Joe Aribo defied all reports that he is still out with a nagging injury, as he returned to action in his side’s Scottish Premiership derby against Celtic. And his side won the game 2-0, megasportsarena.com reports.
The 24-year-old Super Eagles midfielder had been out of action for more than eight weeks after suffering an ankle sprain against St. Johnstone on August 12, but the youngster, who was named The Gers’ Young Player of the Year last season, returned to aplomb in Steven Gerrard’s squad.
Before bowing to injury, Aribo had been in top form, scoring one goal in three games, but the injury also ruled him out of the Eagles’ recent international friendlies against Algeria and Tunisia; but he on Saturday made a second-half appearance for The Gers.
Connor Goldson opened the scoring for Rangers only nine minutes into the encounter after he was set up by James Tavernier, then scored his second in the encounter in the 54th minute to seal the victory for the Ibrox Stadium outfit.
Aribo was introduced in the 89th minute in place of Scott Arfield and showed glimpses of his usual top form, but his injury-prone compatriot, Leon Aderemi Balogun, who featured prominently for Nigeria during the international break, was an unused substitute in the match.
This puts a lie to earlier reports that Gerrard had expressed doubts over Aribo’s availability for Saturday’s game, stating that the lad was still in the process of recovery from an ankle sprain that kept him out of action since August 12, when he scored during a 3-0 win over St. Johnstone, Gerrard stated that the former Charlton Athletic revelation is not yet back to full fitness.
The gaffer added that the squad is missing the services of Aribo, who played only three Scottish Premiership games this season and got a goal to his name, but he has subsequently spent close to nine weeks on the sidelines due to injury, which also denied him the chance to star for the Super Eagles against Algeria and Tunisia during the international break.
Gerrard said: “We are still assessing the internationals so we won’t be able to give you an update on them until later. Aribo and Roofe are close but this game will be too soon for them.
“I think everyone else is pretty much fine. Nothing’s popped out or came up which is extreme where they could miss the game. So we’ve near enough got a clean bill of health, besides Nikola Katic, which is fantastic.”
