RANGERS star Eros Grezda has opened up on his 2019 injury hell - and admits the fear of losing his Albania place drove him back to full fitness.
The 23-year-old returned to action for the Gers on Saturday following more than two months on the sidelines with a foot issue, entering the fray as a half-time substitute during their underwhelming 1-1 draw against Kilmarnock.
It was Grezda’s first appearance of the calendar year and the winger emerged unscathed from the outing.
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He has now declared himself fully fit for the upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers against Turkey on Friday and Andorra three days later.
"I had a very difficult time in the last two months,” he said. “When I was injured and they [the doctors] told me it was serious, the first thing that came to mind is not to lose my role in the national team.
“So during the time I was injured I worked as hard as I could to meet those challenges. I trained privately with coaches and did extra to make sure I returned as quickly as possible.
“I came back to the team at the weekend and I feel very good.
“We [Albania] have a lot of players who are in great shape and have played more football recently, but as long as I am here I will make myself available for every minute. The coach [Christian Panucci] will make the final decision.”
And Grezda is adamant Albania are not approaching qualification simply to make up the numbers.
Panucci’s side finished bottom of Nations League Group C1 - won by Scotland - last year, but the Ibrox ace firmly believes they can spring an upset as they eye the more traditional route to the finals.
World champions France, Iceland and Moldova make up their section [Group H].
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“Panucci gives us a lot of great advice, is very professional and has given us lots of belief,” added Grezda. “We will aim for six points against Turkey and Andorra. We may be a small country compared to Turkey but we will have no fear.
“We qualified for the last European Championships in 2016 and did ourselves proud so, with another talented group of players, we want to do the same thing and make the nation proud.”
Meanwhile, Panucci could barely hide his glee at Grezda coming back into contention, admitting the wide man is a pivotal part of his offensive plans.
The former Italy international will make a decision in the next 48 hours regarding whether the player is ready to start against Turkey.
“Grezda thankfully played for Rangers again, so we'll see how much he will play in the upcoming games,” he added. “Eros has not played much lately but everyone can see how important he is to us and can help us play more attacking football. Can he play 90 minutes yet? We’ll find out this week.”
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