Steven Gerrard has revealed injury cut short Kemar Roofe 's derby debut against Celtic.
The Ibrox star was subbed at half-time during his side's 1-0 victory over Celtic at Ibrox on Saturday.
Albeit an enforced change which introduced Ianis Hagi to the fray, Gerrard admits the twist of fate benefited his team.
The Romanian helped Rangers improve after a first half dominated by Celtic and they eventually emerged with a victory that opened up a 19 point Premiership gap over their city rivals.
Roofe, however, will now have a quad issue assessed ahead of next weekend's trip to Pittodrie.
Gerrard told Rangers TV: "It was on our minds to make a change in the first 45 because we weren't happy with the front three.
"But a stroke of luck, not in terms of the injury because Kemar (Roofe) has got a niggle in his quad, we'll have to assess that and hope he gets back fit, but it actually played into my hands in terms of getting Ianis on the pitch who I thought was outstanding in the second half.
"Ianis takes on information really well and I thought he was really brave to receive the ball in tight areas.
"Ianis produced in the second 45 what we were looking for from our 10s in the whole game.
"Credit to him but it's obviously a blow losing Kemar."
He continued: "The introduction of Ianis helped us play more in our style, play more like a Rangers team.
"There was more connection from the midfield three to the front lads."
