Ryan Jack has slammed Motherwell defender Cedric Kipre for the ‘shocking’ challenge that cost him six months of his Rangers career.
The midfielder’s debut season at Ibrox was ended on December 27 when a clash with Kipre in a Premiership meeting left Jack with knee ligament damage.
The following day, former Rangers manager Graeme Murty cleared the Fir Park centre-back of blame and described the incident – which wasn’t punished by referee John Beaton – as a ‘coming together’.
Ryan Jack’s first season at Rangers was brought to an abrupt halt by a knee ligament injury
Jack, however, has now broken his silence to deliver a very different verdict as he seeks to make up for lost time at the start of Steven Gerrard’s tenure.
‘I thought it was a shocking tackle, to be honest,’ said the 26-year-old, now back in full training at Rangers’ pre-season camp in Spain.
‘There is no point me sitting and saying I thought it was a good challenge or an unlucky challenge, I thought he waited until I got the ball and then he knew he had a chance to hurt me and he did.
‘Of course I’ve watched it back and every time I saw it, it’s not nice. It’s never nice to watch back and see yourself get injured.
Jack has hit out at Motherwell defender Cedric Kipre for the rash nature of the challenge
‘But it is one of things I can learn from in the future. It’s behind me now and I just want to go forward.’ Asked if Murty – now back in charge of the Ibrox Under-20s – had spoken to him before offering his opinion on Kipre’s intent, Jack added: ‘No, not really.
‘Obviously we found out the (scan) results and Graeme, like any other manager, just rang me and said it’s bad news, all the best, the club will look after you, the medical team will look after you and we’ll stay strong around you to make sure that you return.’
Murty’s stance at the time provoked an angry reaction from some Rangers fans on social media, who argued the manager should have stood up for Jack.
‘I think everyone obviously has different opinions,’ added the Scotland cap.. ‘If you sat down ten people, maybe five would say it was a shocking tackle and five would say it wasn’t too bad.
‘If I got asked at the time it would have been the same, I thought it was a shocking tackle at the time and I do still think it was a shocking tackle.
‘But, as I say, nothing was done, the referee didn’t even give a foul at the time.
‘There you go, certain people get sent off for certain things that aren’t sending offs and people get away with bad challenges that put people out for six months. It just shows where it’s at but hopefully it’s behind me and I can move on.’
Jack was sent off four times last season but two of those dismissals – against Hibernian and Kilmarnock – were later rescinded on appeal.
Asked if he thought his reputation had started to unfairly go before him with referees, he replied: ‘I don’t know.
‘To be honest it’s done and nothing I say now is going to change that, but obviously it was a frustrating period for myself to be missing games through suspension.
‘Then obviously after that I got the bad injury and the season is done, there’s no going back.
‘But hopefully that’s in the past and I can move forward.’