Smith joy at Jelavic form

28 February 2011 19:00
Rangers manager Walter Smith has paid tribute to Nikica Jelavic for his impressive comeback from injury after the striker took his tally of goals for the season into double figures. The Croatian is showing signs of being back to his best following a spell of more than three months on the sidelines after suffering a serious ankle injury in October which required surgery. He netted a double as Rangers cruised to a 4-0 win over St Johnstone on Sunday to close the gap on Clydesdale Bank Premier League leaders Celtic to five points with two games in hand. Jelavic has 10 goals for the season so far and Smith is confident he will see a return on the £4million Rangers paid for his services last summer now that his injury problems are in the past. He said: "It was obviously a problem for him and for us as well that we lost him. I felt we were signing someone who could get us a lot of goals and I think he has shown that he can do that." He added: "He's getting there and will probably be reaching his peak as the season is coming to a close. For ourselves, we are just happy that he is back in and scoring goals."

Source: PA