JOE DODOO admits he feared the worst when he was crocked against Kilmarnock in August and consigned to several weeks on the sidelines.

Now the striker is determined to make his mark in the Premiership after returning to action for the Light Blues last time out.

Dodoo lasted just 15 minutes at Rugby Park before he was stretchered off with an ankle injury and replaced by debutant Joe Garner.

Mark Warburton’s side would drop two points in Ayrshire and Dodoo has been forced to watch on from the stands as the Gers’ title bid suffered a series of blows in recent weeks.

He got back on the park as Partick Thistle were beaten at Ibrox and has set his sights on another outing against Inverness Caley Thistle on Friday night.

Dodoo said: “I feared the worst on the day of the injury and obviously to have got away with a major one, it was still good but bad news. I’m happy it was only a month and I’m back playing again.

“The physios have been fantastic, straight away from getting injured they took me to the hospital for the scan as quickly as possible so we knew what the problem was.

“It’s great because they told me what I needed to do and looked after me; even today they keep me on track and make sure I’m doing the right things to stay fit.

“It’s been great here, good to work with different type of people, and to be back three weeks earlier than expected, they must have done a great job.”

Dodoo was given the nod to lead the Light Blues forward line at Rugby Park but was denied a chance to add to his tally for Warburton’s side as he landed awkwardly early on.

The former Leicester City kid scored on his debut against East Stirlingshire and then found the target in the Betfred Cup victory over Peterhead at Ibrox.

And he is keen to fight his way back into Warburton’s starting line-up after coming through a second half cameo against Thistle unscathed.

Dodoo said: “You can say it’s disappointing but sometimes with football you can do nothing about it.

“I think what you have to do is brush it off and you have to come back stronger and go out and perform.

“It is disappointing but I don’t look at it that way; there’s nothing I could have done about it, it was a freak accident and I’m back now and looking forward to what is coming up next – I’m thinking positive.

“It is very difficult for me to sit back and watch the team because I just want to be out there helping. That’s one of the things I’m really bad at.

“I want to rush things so I can come back and play, but sometimes you have to be patient.

“I don’t want to rush back and then I’m not fit again and I go back inside, but it’s taken me three weeks to come back which is good.

“It’s great to get minutes and obviously we have got the win [against Partick Thistle] which is great for the team, to get the momentum back and kick on.”

It has been a frustrating start to the campaign for Warburton’s side as they have fallen well off the Premiership pace being set by Old Firm rivals Celtic.

But Dodoo is enjoying life in Glasgow as he looks to help the Light Blues climb the top flight standings this term.

“The fans have been fantastic since I’ve been here,” he told RangersTV.

“They kind of warmed to me straight away and they’ve made some hilarious songs about me, which isn’t bad!

“But it’s been great here, there are amazing people, people who talk to you on the street, and it’s all good messages.

“It’s great to interact with them and to have fans support you that much, you can’t get anything better than that.”