STEVEN GERRARD is confident striker Kemar Roofe is getting close to his best as he continues to catch the eye for Rangers.

Roofe capped off a superb showing against Benfica on Thursday night with a terrific long-range strike that added to Scott Arfield’s opener at Ibrox.

It wasn’t enough for Rangers in the end, however, as the Portuguese giants fought back to earn a dramatic draw that denied Steven Gerrard’s side a place in the Europa League knockout rounds.

Roofe is likely to miss the Betfred Cup clash with Falkirk on Sunday as Gerrard keeps him fresh for the visit of Standard Liege and Premiership trip to Ross County next weekend.

And the former Leeds United and Anderlecht forward will have a crucial role to play at home and abroad as he continues to raise his levels at Ibrox this term.

Gerrard said: “He is repeating training sessions now and he is available for games. He’s got no niggles, pains or disruptions to his training.

“I think you can see signs he is getting close to his best. He looked dangerous throughout and scored a fantastic goal. We are really pleased with him at the moment.

“Now he has played quite a few games on the spin, we need to be sensible with Kemar for the weekend. We will make that decision in the coming days.

“But we need to keep him fit for big games domestically because he is going to be a big help to the squad.”