Former Rangers midfielder Dave Smith broke his leg twice in the same calendar year and is now tipping Steven Naismith to recover from his own double blow.
Striker Naismith will not return for Rangers until next season after sustaining knee ligament damage for the second time in his Ibrox career in a match at Aberdeen back in October.
Since then Rangers have struggled without him and Smith feels it is time for those tasked with replacing him to do their jobs properly.
Smith, speaking to promote a 40th anniversary dinner for the ‘Barcelona Bears’, the Rangers European Cup Winners’ Cup team he was a part of in 1972, feared for his career during his injury problems.
But the 68-year-old reckons Naismith has the mental strength to bounce back and is more worried about how Rangers are faring without him.
Smith said: “They’ve missed Steven Naismith there’s no doubt about that. He reminds me a bit of Alex MacDonald because he did a lot of work that nobody recognised apart from those playing with him.
“But clubs like Rangers should be able to manage without one player.
“It’s 11 playing so you should be able to manage without a single player, but sometimes it’s hard. Steven Naismith gives the other players a lift with his energy.
“That’s what’s been lacking for Rangers since he went missing, that energy, and nobody yet has stepped up to the mark.
“There were 51 weeks between my leg breaks. It was a mental thing for me. Steven has been through one serious knee injury before so he knows what’s ahead of him.
“Ronnie McKinnon in my era was the fittest man at Ibrox before he also broke his leg. It was different for him after that. You have to learn how to walk again which is very difficult.
“When I broke mine the second time in training, a then team-mate Colin Stein ran up to me and my first reaction was to say I was finished.”
Smith is optimistic Rangers will survive their current financial woes but he blames overspending across the Scottish game during the 1980s and 1990s for their plight now.
He said: “The financial problems in Scottish football stem from about 15 to 20 years ago when clubs all paid more than they could afford. Now they’re having to face up to what’s happening.
“On the field it’s very difficult because the standard in Scotland isn’t as high as it was. When I was playing every team had good players in their side, ones you’d look out for, now they’re much the same.
“There’s nobody special playing.”
Smith is looking forward to the 1972 squad’s event in Glasgow on May 18, which will see Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson appear as guest speaker.
He said: “The years go by quick. It still feels like yesterday. You don’t realise until later years how important it was to yourself, the club and the fans.
“Those days we used to think we could go out on the park and beat anybody. It was a shame that team didn’t stay together longer.”