Filip Helander hopes his lengthy wait for a comeback has a silver lining and allows him to reach new heights for Rangers.

The Sweden defender took some time to settle into the Scottish game but shone on his recall for a 1-1 draw against Porto on October 24 last year.

However, his spell in the team ended when he was injured in the Betfred Cup final defeat by Celtic on December 8 and he was just about to make a comeback when the coronavirus pandemic struck Scotland.

But Helander was able to train earlier than his Scotland-based team-mates after returning to Sweden and he is raring to go ahead of the August 1 kick-off for the Scottish Premiership.

The 27-year-old told the official Rangers website: "When I arrived, I hadn't had a pre-season so I was a bit behind everyone else, then when I started to play, both October and November I think I played well and then I got injured.

"Hopefully I can get to an even higher level now. I was back with the team just before the lockdown, so it has been a long time since I last played a game.

"But I have been in Sweden during the lockdown so I have had the possibility to train there and have some football there back at home.

"Of course, there is still a long way to go, but whenever it is going to be, there is no excuse to not be ready and we are all looking forward to it."

Meanwhile, Rangers revealed they had exceeded 40,000 season ticket sales hours before the renewal deadline.