JAMIE MURPHY played 45 minutes this afternoon as a Rangers development squad came back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Hibs.
Murphy hasn't featured for the first-team in competitive action since suffering a serious knee injury last August at
Kilmarnock.
The winger
made his Ibrox comeback during a pre-season friendly against Marseille in July.
And he was back in action today at the Hummel Training Centre before being replaced at half time by Serge Atakayi.
Josh Doig and Jamie Gullan fired the away side into a two-goal lead.
The
Hibees looked like they were cruising to an easy victory with just minutes remaining.
But Nathan Young-Coombes gave his side a glimpse of hope as he scored from the spot in the 87th minute.
And Jamie Barjonas grabbed an equaliser as he headed home in the 90th minute.
Gers' reserve boss Graeme Murty revealed Murphy asked to play in the match.
He said: "Jamie actually asked to play, so for him to want to come and play in this group I think shows that he trusts this group.
“He knows that we are going to give him the ball and he knows that we can handle the ball and we can actually serve as a vehicle for him to get to where he wants to be.
“Having Eros with us as we have done, he is a full international, the guy's got electric feet and an understanding of the broader game that our guys sometimes don’t have so for us to learn of them is really good.
“Our guys are in charge of their own careers and they have to drive their own careers now and having those guys along will give them guidelines and steps on how they are going to make improvements but ultimately they need to own it and push forward with their own development.
Murphy has remained at
Gers until at least January despite Steven Gerrard
claiming he could be sent on loan as he was FOUR MONTHS away from a top team return.
Speaking last month, Gerrard said: “Murph is a unique situation. He’s missed a year’s football.
“He’s doing everything he can to get back to the level he was before. We need to help him find the best solution.
“It’s not going to happen overnight. I predict it could take four months.
“I think a loan is one thing on the agenda.
“He needs as much football as he can, and at a decent level, to get back to where he was.”