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Kevin Campbell has claimed that it is a “make or break” few months for Rangers star Aaron Ramsey’s footballing career, reacting to the news that the Ibrox man drafted in his own doctors behind the scenes.

The Lowdown: Ramsey’s injury woes

The Wales international has always been renowned for his injury woes over the course of his career, rather than being remembered for his undeniable talent.

In total, the 31 year-old has missed 153 games due to various issues across his career, with Transfermarkt’s list of injuries for him spanning three pages.

Even across the 2021/22 season, the midfielder has suffered five separate spells out; one of which has kept him out of action since Rangers’ emphatic 4-2 at Borussia Dortmund in February.

However, the 31-year-old recently returned to Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s matchday squad as an unused substitute in the Light Blues’ 1-0 win over Aberdeen.

The Latest: Campbell reacts…

After it was revealed that Ramsey had spent £30,000 on flying specialist physios into Glasgow behind the scenes, Campbell, who regularly features as a pundit for Sky Sports, claimed that the remainder of the season could be huge for the Welshman’s football career.

Speaking with Football Insider, whose headline claimed this is a potentially ‘career-ending period’, he said:

“This has been Rambo’s problem for a while now.

“It’s been very difficult to keep him fit. That’s always been the case with him, I don’t think anybody could question his talent though. 

“To show consistency of performance you have got to be available. Let’s be honest, the availability hasn’t been there.

“People are always going to question you and say things if you are not available.

“Aaron Ramsey needs an injury-free run until the end of the season now. It’s make or break time.”

The Verdict: Big few months ahead

Having played just 94 minutes of football for Rangers, Ramsey’s redemption move has certainly not gone to plan as of yet.

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Whilst he is on loan with the Scottish side, the Glasgow club have the option of making the deal permanent in the summer, but it is hard to see Ross Wilson and co committing to a permanent move given his troubles so far.

Rangers are currently preparing for tomorrow night’s round 16 Europa League clash against Red Star Belgrade, so summer transfers are likely the last thing on the supporters’ minds at the moment, but what a shame it would be to miss out on a player of Ramsey’s ability due to his lack of availability.

In other news: Rangers: Chris Jack concerned about potential summer exodus

Geoff Miller, England’s newly appointed National Selector, has disagreed with the views of Nasser Hussain who last week accused England of going soft since winning the Ashes in 2005. Miller, who replaced David Graveney as the chief selector yesterday, welcomed Hussain’s opinion but sees England’s slump as a “hiccup”.”Nasser is entitled to his own views and I know what he is saying, but I don’t think we have gone soft,” Miller told . “We have had a hiccup, I will accept that, and as soon as there is a hiccup there are going to be comments made about what the problems are.”I understand Nasser and know him very well from our days at Essex so I will approach him about it and find out exactly what he means by that. I talk to experienced players and to umpires and all kinds of people who have some relevant views. That is one of my strong points – communication.”Miller was Graveney’s apprentice for eight years, and reportedly had to be persuaded to take the new salaried position, since he already has a profitable career as an after-dinner speaker. And although England’s record under Graveney included an Ashes win, the 5-0 trouncing they received in Australia and the disappointing loss in Sri Lanka in December leave Miller with a tall task to rebuild England’s fortunes ahead of the next Ashes – in a little over a year.”There have been contributing factors. We have had injuries, we have to accept that, and there has been a change of personnel,” Miller said. “We are in a transitional period now in both kinds of cricket but the curve from 2000 has been pretty good.”It has been an upward curve. We have taken a couple of backward steps but I don’t see, with the experience and the quality we have in the side and the excitement of the youngsters we have got coming forward, why we can’t get back on an even keel again.””We have got to win matches and series to get some momentum back again. There is lots of excitement round the corner.”

Stuart Clark should open with Glenn McGrath, according to Shane Warne © Getty Images

Shane Warne believes Stuart Clark should open the bowling with Glenn McGrath during the World Cup but Shaun Tait could be trusted with the important final overs. Warne also defended Brad Hogg’s recent efforts and said his successful warm-up against England could be a turning point.Warne, writing in his column in , said McGrath and Clark were Australia’s best frontline options. “People can say they are a bit predictable,” Warne said. “I just think they are the best two fast bowlers in the world at the moment.”Brett Lee is a big loss … but Clark is a different type of bowler who will be very difficult to face if the ball nips around or stops in the pitch. Accuracy is at a premium in those conditions and Clark and McGrath can take advantage of the early starts.”Warne said Hogg, whose last five ODIs have yielded no wickets, had not been performing badly and should take confidence from his 2 for 28 in Friday’s warm-up against England. “Hogg, from what I’ve seen, has been bowled pretty well without luck,” Warne said.He believed spinners would play a key role in the West Indies and Michael Clarke’s part-time offerings could be vital. Warne said Sri Lanka and New Zealand would be Australia’s biggest threats but the defending champions should not be concerned about their recent series losses.”Despite missing Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Andrew Symonds, they still posted scores above 300 [in New Zealand],” he said. “No other side has the depth to build totals like that when four of the usual top five are out.”

England A 341 for 8 and 116 for 1 (Solanki 62*, Joyce 50) lead Antigua and Barbuda 157 (Richards 71, Batty 7-23) by 300 runs
ScorecardGareth Batty took 7 for 23 to put England A in a seemingly impregnable position at the end of the second day of the three-day match against Antigua and Barbuda at St John’s. By the close England A had reached 116 for 1, a lead of 300.England A declared on their overnight 341 for 8, and Austin Richards and Amwaa Prince, both local police officers, gave the home side an excellent start with a first-wicket stand of 101. But the introduction of Batty triggered a remarkable collapse in which all ten wickets fell for 56 in the afternoon session.England A then reshuffled their batting order to give those who had missed out first time a chance to find some form. The move paid off as Ed Joyce and Vikram Solanki posted 108 for the first wicket, Joyce falling for 50 shortly before the close.

Perera was allegedly involved in a brawl that left people hospitalised© CricInfo

Suresh Perera, an allrounder once tipped to be an international star, was arrested last week on assault charges after allegedly becoming involved in a drunken brawl. Perera, now 27, was later released on bail by magistrates after being held overnight in custody.The alleged incident took place late on Wednesday evening outside Perera’s house. Perera and his friends had been drinking when a group of jeering passing men areportedly drew them into a fight by the roadside. Two men were later hospitalised after the fight which included the use of bottles and broken glass.When Perera made his international debut against England at The Oval in 1998 he showed the potential to become an important part of Sri Lanka’s one-day team, which was desperate for a fast bowler who could also bat explosively in the lower order. But although he was championed by Dav Whatmore, Perera struggled to turn potential into performance in three Tests and 20 ODIs. His international career was then effectively ended when Steve Bucknor spotted a bend in his arm and reported his action as suspect during a Test against India in 2001.His confidence plummeted after that, and in recent seasons his career has drifted. During the last domestic season, having moved clubs to try to revive his career, he played just one first-class match for Colombo Cricket Club during the entire season.

Ganguly and Gavaskar before the storm © Getty

Sunil Gavaskar has predicted hard times for India in Australia, on the eve of the team’s departure for a three-month tour that will consist of a four-Test series, followed by the VB Series also involving Zimbabwe. India’s last Test victory in Australia came in 1981, and they have lost seven of their last eight Tests there, dating back to 1991-92.India slumped to a 37-run defeat in the TVS Cup final against Australia last Tuesday, a third defeat in succession against a side that was nowhere near full strength. Chasing a target of 236, gettable even on a wearing pitch, they disappointed a capacity Eden Gardens crowd by capitulating meekly in the final stages.The manner of surrender infuriated Gavaskar. In his column, he wrote, “If they can’t get 236 against a second-string bowling attack what will they do against the fully fledged attack?”India were the last team to beat Australia in a Test series, back in 2001, but Ricky Ponting, who masterminded the TVS Cup triumph, reckoned they would struggle in Australia. Even Sourav Ganguly acknowledged that his team’s recent displays – a drawn two-Test series against New Zealand and the indifferent showing in the TVS Cup – were a worry.In the same newpaper in which Gavaskar had aired his views, Ganguly said, “Our performances in the recently concluded Test and one-day series have been below par. The situation requires everyone to put up their hands and be counted.”India go into the tour with a five-man pace attack that is woefully short on experience, with only Ajit Agarkar having played in Australia before. The batting will once again be heavily reliant on Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, with Ponting suggesting that the Australians had worked out the likes of VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag.The selectors have also come in for much criticism in the build-up to the team’s departure, because of their decision to omit Murali Kartik – the only Indian slow bowler to show consistently good form in the recent past – in favour of Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble, both of whom did little of note in the home season.

There could not have been a greater contrast between the two Shell Shield games played at Pukekura Park, New Plymouth over the last three days.On Wednesday, Auckland won a game in which 520 runs were scored. Today – on the same pitch – Northern Districts not only successfully defended a total of 134, but won a bonus point by bowling out Central Districts for only 105.What had changed? ND coach Bruce Blair provided a partial explanation when he spoke to CricInfo at the end of the game. “The pitch dried out and lost a lot of its pace. If bowlers bowled straight, with subtle changes of pace, it was going to be difficult to score.”There was also turn, with spinners claiming eight of the wickets, but the state of the pitch was by no means completely to blame. The bowlers of both teams have out-performed the batsmen in one-day cricket this season and continued to do so today.ND won the toss and chose to bat after an 80-minute delay caused by yet more rain in this sodden New Zealand summer.At first, things progressed normally, with Simon Doull setting about the opening attack with gusto, achieving an improvement in a strike rate that was already the best in the competition. He hit 35 from 20 deliveries, including four fours and two sixes, cover driven and pulled onto Pukekura Park’s temple-like terraces.As Doull was not one of the six bowlers later called upon by ND, his transformation from opening bowler to opening batsman appears complete, in the one-day game, at least.At 64/2 after 18 overs things were progressing as expected, if a little slowly. James Marshall’s innings of 15 from 62 balls gave the first indication that scoring would be tricky. So it proved. Doull apart, only four boundaries were hit in the ND innings.The last seven wickets fell for only 33 runs, an unspectacular but defiant 42 from Matthew Hart the only thing that held ND together. Apart from Lance Hamilton, who copped it from Doull early on, all the CD bowlers performed at their best, with Michael Mason (7.3-3-21-3) and Campbell Furlong (10-2-23-3) having the most impressive figures. Bevan Griggs took five catches behind the stumps.Between innings CD could have been forgiven if their thoughts were of a bonus point to propel them off the bottom of the table. But ND, and in particular Blair, had not given up hope.”I gave us a fighting chance if we could pressure on with good bowling and if we had some luck.” Such a view appeared fanciful at the start of the innings, but became realistic within the first few overs of the CD innings.Things got off to the worst possible start for CD in general and Jamie How in particular. Responding to David Kelly’s call, How was beaten by a direct hit from Marshall at cover from the first ball, out without facing. It was a risk that need not have been taken chasing such a small total.The two key batsmen, Mathew Sinclair and Ben Smith were dismissed with the score barely in double figures and that, effectively, was that. Kelly, Griggs and Richard King all resisted to some extent and Schwass swatted optimistically, hitting Grant Bradburn onto the third terrace, but lack of confidence and suspicion of the pitch spread through the CD batting fatally.In any conversation with a coach these days the word ‘pressure’ will be used soon and often. The ND attack gave a textbook demonstration of it. The pace triumvirate of Daryl Tuffey, Joseph Yovich and Graeme Aldridge all maintained a disciplined line and length, offering few easy runs.Bradburn offered his usual control, disproving those who say that he is a spinner who does not turn the ball. But the star of the ND attack was slow left-armer Hart, who finished with domestic career-best one-day figures of 7-2-7-4.Hart’s career appeared to be drifting away a year or so ago, but now he is back as a key performer with bat and ball. Blair paid tribute.”Matthew is a terrific cricketer. He bats in the top three or four and is capable of bowling 10 tight overs. In recent years his bowling has not been used as often as it might have been, but we always saw a role for him as a bowler this season.”The five points gathered here consolidates ND’s second place in the State Shield table. Can they challenge Wellington for the right to stage the final? Blair thinks so.”We have to keep playing positive cricket and to deliver our batting game plans, which we didn’t do today.”The defeat effectively ends CD’s hopes of defending their one-day title. They host Wellington at Waikanae on Sunday, while ND are at home to Otago in Hamilton.

The day was simply divided into two parts. Everything that happened upto tea, and the post tea session. In another light, the period duringwhich Hyderabad harboured hopes of a miraculous victory and the periodafter they decided it was a lost cause. Whichever way one looks at it,Mumbai were moving in for the kill at the end of the day in the RanjiTrophy final at the Wankhede stadium on Saturday. Hyderabad havenothing to play for from their position of 251/7.Hyderabad batted with determination. That’s the bottom line. Thoughthere has been ample talk about how they have absolutely no hopewhatsoever in this game and that they don’t have the big guns in theirbatting line up. That might very well be true. However, what must begranted is that they went through to lunch losing just one wicket.Nandakishore was the only casualty when he was undone by a wellpitched delivery from Ajit Agarkar. Bowling with good pace, Agarkarmanaged to trap the opener in just the fourth over of the day. Hisopening spell of 5-2-7-1 had the crowd roaring in anticipation of aHyderabad collapse.However, Daniel Manohar and VVS Laxman refused to be cowed down. AbeyKuruvilla opening the bowling in his last match did his jobefficiently. He took the ball for a longer spell than most expected,finishing with 9-1-24-0. Daniel Manohar was circumspect to start with,leaving the ball well. He knew exactly where his off stump was andforced the bowlers to bring the ball closer to the stumps.Laxman was in a rich vein of form. Though he chose to be more carefulthan usual, Laxman played some exquisite strokes in his stay at thecrease. When the ball was short he was in position quickly, neverafraid to take the aerial route while pulling. His drives through theoff side lit up the eyes of the Hyderabad dressing room and put atleast a sliver of uncertainty in the minds of the Mumbai team.When Laxman edged a ball from Kuruvilla straight to Sachin Tendulkarat slip he had just six runs to his name. The ball came to Tendulkarat a comfortable height, went straight to his hands and poppedout. For someone who is usually a safe catcher at first slip it was abad miss.After lunch, more good batting by Hyderabad saw them solidify theirposition. Laxman and Manohar seemed to have understood the situationrather well. Manohar made a brilliant century on debut againstKarnataka three years ago and since has failed to impress. Though helooks good out in the middle he simply does not have the scores toback him up.Laxman made most of the runs in the partnership, being the more fluentof the two batsmen. The Hyderabad dressing room was on its feet whenhe brought up his century off 161 balls. His knock included two bigsixes against spinner Rajesh Pawar in addition to 12 boundaries. Bothsixes were effortlessly struck from the crease, all timing.Keeping to mediumpacers all day Samir Dighe took a fair thumping. Inthe 46th over of the day, Ajit Agarkar’s 11th, Dighe was struckparticularly hard and winced in pain. From the confines of the pressbox, it appeared as though Dighe had split the webbing on his lefthand. Vinod Kambli who had fielded exceptionally well all day, donnedthe gloves.At tea, Hyderabad were proceeding steadily on with 194/1 on theboard. Manohar was on a patient unbeaten 66 while Laxman had 111 tohis name. After tea however, Hyderabad lost their waycompletely. Hampered by the fact that Mohammed Azharuddin could batonly after five wickets had fallen, Hyderabad succumbed meekly. Azharwas off the field most of yesterday with an injury to his thigh andthis meant that he could only come in late in the order.Laxman, resuming on his tea score of 111, skied a catch to substitutefielder Amit Dani. Nelson had struck again. There was little hope forHyderabad after Laxman was dismissed and this showed in their approachto batting. Laxman had been positive while being guarded and this gavethe batsmen some confidence. His demise brought Vanka Pratap to thecrease.Manohar, who had battled hard for over 300 minutes, fell to the spinof Rajesh Pawar. The left armer bowled Manohar when he was on 71. Atthis stage, Hyderabad were 202/3 and still relatively wellplaced. However, the batsmen who followed showed no convictionwhatsoever. This reflected clearly on the scorecard as Hyderabadslipped to 240/7.Even the experienced Azharuddin could do precious little. Playing aforward defensive stroke to Pawar, Azhar ended up ballooning a catchto the fielder under the helmet at silly mid off.At the end of the day, Hyderabad were tottering and there is verylittle left for Mumbai to do but drive the nails into the Hyderabadcoffin.

Leeds United have struggled to find the back of the net at times in the Premier League this season with just 29 goals scored in 27 games, which is a big drop from the 43 that they had netted at the same stage in their previous campaign.

This unfortunate statistic could be put down to the fact that they have had to go through the majority of the season without Patrick Bamford up front as a result of injuries after the Englishman scored 17 goals in 38 league appearances last year.

While the Yorkshire club could have done with an extra goalscoring option in their squad this season, one former Whites figure hasn’t had much trouble finding the back of the net since leaving Elland Road in a £5.4m deal.

In 122 appearances for the club, 29-year-old striker Kemar Roofe scored 33 goals and provided 14 assists for the Whites before joining Belgian club RSC Anderlecht in the 2019 summer transfer window.

Despite making just 16 appearances for Anderlecht, the striker, who is currently picking up a weekly wage of £26k-per-week according to Salary Sport, managed to score seven goals and provide three assists before joining Scottish club Rangers a year after his move to Belgium.

Since making the move to Ibrox, the Jamaican has racked up 30 goals in 63 appearances across all competitions, showing at both clubs what a deadly attacking threat he has been since moving away from Leeds.

With the benefit of hindsight, it could be said that Victor Orta and the club made a big mistake by letting Roofe leave when he did, as he could have been a valuable asset for the team in Bamford’s absence this season.

Having been praised in the past by former Rangers manager Steven Gerrard for his “unbelievable” long range Europa League goal against Standard Liege, which was described as being “a moment of genius” by the current Aston Villa boss, Roofe has certainly thrived in terms of scoring goals since ending his time at the Yorkshire club.

Perhaps the best piece of praise since departing Leeds came from Gerrard who once described his livewire attitude like a “Duracell bunny.”

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Moving forward, now that the former Leeds forward has moved on and is enjoying his time in the SPFL, the best thing Jesse Marsch’s side can do now is to focus on their own players and fight until the end of the campaign to avoid getting relegated to the Championship.

In other news: Orta can seal dream move after Leeds plot bid for £20m gem, he’s a “new Luis Suarez” – opinion 

	Masterclass from Tendulkar © Getty Images

Sachin Tendulkar has offered valuable technical tips to the younger members of the Indian team in the training sessions in Melbourne ahead of the ODI against Australia on February 10.Tendulkar advised Robin Uthappa and Suresh Raina on techniques to adapt to the conditions and the pitches in Australia, suggested tips to Rohit Sharma to improve his front-foot drives and counselled Gautam Gambhir and Manoj Tiwary on their stance.Gambhir was told not to have a completely side-on position at the crease, and instead open up his stance for a slightly two-eyed look at the bowler. This would allow him to offer the full face of the bat, and help him play through the on side more effectively.”The plan is simple, see the ball, hit the ball and play in the ‘V,” Gambhir had earlier revealed his theory of batting in Australia. “The conditions here give a batsman full value for his strokes, though you need a lot of courage and determination. It’s difficult to get on to the front foot when you are facing genuine quick bowlers like Brett Lee or Mitchell Johnson but there is very little chance when you are sitting on the back foot.” Tendulkar’s tips are designed to enable Gambhir score more freely in his preferred area down the ground.It is learnt that Tendulkar, while praising Rohit for his back-foot play, was keen that he leans more on to his strokes while driving through the off side to add more power and punch. After his session with Tendulkar, Rohit had his batting video taped by the team’s computer analyst Dhananjay.Rohit considers Tendulkar his favourite player and has sought his advice in the past too. In an earlier interview with Rediff, Rohit said, “It [Tendulkar’s advice] was very different from what you always hear from coaches. I mean what he said was practical, based on his own vast experience. He also told me when to take singles and twos and also when and how to accelerate, and so on and so forth. Believe me, it was very, very different from what we juniors hear from others almost every day.”Tendulkar worked with Uthappa and Manoj Tiwary too. Uthappa’s tendency to commit himself to the front foot came in for scrutiny, and Tendulkar suggested a slight sideways trigger movement instead of a big stride forward.Tendulkar noted that Tiwary places his feet too close to each other in his stance, which inhibits his movement either forward or back. Like he did with Gambhir, Tendulkar suggested that Tiwary open up in his stance which would help him drive towards mid-off and mid-on rather than committing himself to a cover drive.Tendulkar has also advised the youngsters to opt for lighter bats on the bouncier pitches of Australia as it would allow them to move more quickly into position.