STEVEN GERRARD hopes his Rangers attack will be given a double boost in the coming days as Jermain Defoe and Cedric Itten move closer to a return to action.

Defoe has not played for the Gers since being injured in pre-season, while Itten was forced to miss international duty with Switzerland over the last week due to a knock.

Fellow summer signing Kemar Roofe has used the break to raise his levels in terms of fitness and sharpness and Gerrard is encouraged by the shape of his squad ahead of the visit of Dundee United this weekend.

He told RangersTV: “We have given them some time off with their families. We have been on quite a hectic schedule but that is about to get even more intense going into September and October.

“I do like to give the players some time with their families. We had a tough pre-season, played a lot of games at the start of the season on the back of the lockdown.

“I think it is important that they freshen up from a mental point of view. We have trained a couple of times now and the standard has been excellent.

“You can see the likes of Kemar, who have been given work to do away from here, now starting to look really ready, which is fantastic.

“It has also been a chance for us to get injured players closer to getting back into full training. Jermain Defoe is on the verge of that, Cedric Itten is on the verge of that and Jordan Jones’ injury is not as bad as first feared.

“We are hoping, in a week’s time, we should be in real good shape from an injury point of view as well. It has been a positive international break so far.”