Jermain Defoe makes Rangers injury rest admission as striker gives watching brief verdict

Determined Jermain Defoe has vowed he will come back from injury stronger than ever as he aims to break back into the Rangers XI.

The former England international is now edging back to fitness after a hamstring injury suffered in a pre-season friendly against Motherwell.

The 38-year-old admits the jump from keeping fit on his own during lockdown to the intensity of Steven Gerrard 's training regime was a shock to the system and he wonders if his body needed a reboot.

That feeling has been solidified by a powerful return, with the striker feeling fitter and stronger than ever.

He told Rangers TV : "It's one of those ones with the pandemic that we've never experienced before in that it's such a long time without playing football.

"You come back into pre-season and you are playing with a level of intensity that is completely different to what we are used to after training on your own and obviously you are going to pick up little niggles.

"It's longer than I would have liked but I feel really strong now and maybe my body needed it to get myself really strong and I feel stronger now than when I came back."

(SNS Group)

Rangers are yet to lose a goal so far this season let alone lose a game and Defoe has been an interested spectator.

While the diminutive striker praised the defenders for their record breaking seven game start, he also pinpointed the defensive work by the whole team that has helped the Ibrox men control large swathes of games.

He said: "It's been quite interesting to be honest because when you are involved and playing there are things you don't notice because you are so caught up in it.

"Sitting back and watching it I've been impressed. We look solid, we don't look like we will concede.

"Credit to the boys at the back and the whole team because we defend from the front and are really organised.

"Obviously the manager has come out and said he wants us to be more ruthless and score more goals because of the players we have up front.

"It's still early days but in terms of being solid and being hard to beat in defending our box it's been perfect."