Rangers defender David Bates has admitted that he needs to play more games to become match fit as he continues his return from injury.
The 21-year-old, who played the full 90 minutes of Rangers’ 4-0 win over Berwick Rangers in Steven Notman’s testimonial on Wednesday night, has not featured in a competitive game for the Gers since July.
Bates has been struggling with a ligament injury and only returned to training three weeks ago; he played in the friendly against Manchester United Under-23s last week.
Besides Bates, Rangers have had several absentees through injury in the defensive department, with interim boss Graeme Murty having to chop and change his side in recent games.
And the youngster, who said that he is yet to attain full fitness, underlined the importance of getting some game time under his belt.
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“It’s hard when you see other boys coming off injured and you think to yourself that you could have maybe had a chance yourself, but that’s just part and parcel of football”, he said on Rangers TV.
“I’m getting there and obviously I need to play games because match sharpness is key.
“I don’t think I’ve played since the end of July and obviously match fitness is completely different to training and I need to get game time to get back in and impress.”
Bates went on to add that while he struggled after 70 minutes against Manchester United-23s, he relished the physical challenge put up by Berwick Rangers.
“I was out for about ten weeks with a strained ligament on my leg”, he continued.
“It was a bit of a nightmare, but I eventually got over it and I’ve been training now for three weeks.
“I got a game against Manchester United under-23s during the week.
“I played ninety minutes but I was struggling after about seventy.
“Tonight was good to play against a bit more physical a team than their under-23s, so it’s been good.”
It remains to be seen if Bates features for Rangers in their upcoming Scottish Premiership game against Hamilton Academical on Saturday.
