THE days have turned into weeks, the weeks into months. The progress has been slow and frustrating for Jordan Rossiter.

His disappointment is shared by Mark Warburton, his enthusiasm to get back on the park matched by an Ibrox crowd keen to see the midfielder in action once again.

Rossiter arrived in Glasgow with the potential to be the signing of the summer for Rangers but his talents have been under-utilised so far.

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That is not through choice, but through a set of circumstances that are outwith Rossiter’s control as he has suffered a series of setbacks this season.

The hour he played at Rugby Park in August remains his last minutes in Light Blue and boss Warburton confirmed this week that he has once again taken one step forward but two back on the road to recovery.

A persistent calf injury continues to keep Rossiter on the treatment table and Warburton can sympathise with the situation the 19-year-old finds himself in.

“I look at other players and past experiences,” he said.

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“Scott Hogan arrived at Brentford from Rochdale with a great playing record. He had a slight hamstring injury, does his cruciate in the first game at Rotherham, comes back and does his cruciate again.

“He doesn’t play for two years. There is nothing leading up to suggest that.

“Now, he is a top scorer in the Championship and will go for £10million plus. There is no knowledge of that.

“I look at Moses Odubajo, we looked at the scans and weren’t sure but he played 65 games every year. Then he fractures his kneecap. There is no logic in these type of situations.

“In Jordan’s case, playing for England in the summer, played every game, comes back and plays six games for Rangers. He got to the point on the Thursday where he would have joined us for training on the Monday.

“He had come through all the rehab and he was ready to join us. The medical team here are first class and they will do everything they can.

“We will get to the bottom of it, he is a couple of weeks away now. It is just frustrating because he is a talented player that we would be using.”

The capture of Rossiter was one of the most interesting of the summer for Rangers as Warburton persuaded the Liverpool kid to make the move to Glasgow.

After impressing for England at the Under-19 European Championships, he made a positive first impression at Ibrox as he caught the eye during the opening weeks of the new campaign.

And Warburton hopes the efforts of the Auchenhowie medical team will pay dividends sooner rather than later.

He said: “It was a hamstring on international duty. You look at it. Is it the drive in the car? Is it the travel?

“Everyone in this room has a different body. What we have to do is try and find a root cause.

“You can have an ankle problem that is linked to your back. We are doing the tests and he is in good hands.

“It is just frustration for Jordan to get that close to first team training. We want him, he is an important young player for us and he has got a big role ahead.”

The loss of Rossiter is one of many blows that Warburton has suffered so far this season as he has been denied the services of the highly-rated Scouser.

With Joey Barton no longer on the Ibrox books, Niko Kranjcar ruled out for the season and Matt Crooks still not up to speed, Warburton is without a host of midfield options at present.

Andy Halliday, Josh Windass and Jason Holt have held down the central berths in recent weeks and are likely to start against Dundee this weekend.

For Rossiter, it will be another Saturday spent in the stand rather than on the pitch as he is forced to watch on once again.

Warburton said: “You can look at someone else known up here, Lewis Macleod. He came down and hardly played. Now he is out to October 2017.

“You have to be strong. It is part and parcel of the game. You are one tackle or pass away from an injury.

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“Jordan is more than strong enough. He is just frustrated because he lives and breathes football. We want him back as soon as possible.

“The boys in the squad are great but when they go out at 10.15am, he goes to the gym or the pool. He is not out there doing what he wants to do.

“It’s like Matt Crooks. Two boys come from Accrington. Matt has an injury that keeps him out for six months and he watches Josh come in, play football, get used to Ibrox, Old Firm games or whatever else. Crooksy is going with the Under-20s to play at Stirling.

“But it’s part of the process. And you hope they return stronger characters for it. The ones that aren’t strong enough shouldn’t be in the game.”