STEVEN GERRARD insists Rangers won’t rush Nikola Katic along the road to recovery as the defender continues his rehabilitation from knee surgery.

Katic saw his campaign cruelly cut short in the summer after he suffered cruciate knee ligament damage and he was forced to go under the knife in July.

The Croatian has been keeping supporters up to date on his progress on social media in recent months as he works through his fitness programme and puts in the hours in the gym.

His latest Instagram post last week showed him in impressive physical shape as he uses the time to bulk up and work on his strength and conditioning.

But there is no timeframe yet on when Katic will return to training or match action as Gerrard looks to keep him involved and keep his spirits up this term.

Gerrard said: “Yeah he's throwing a bit of iron about. He certainly lifts a lot heavier than what I throw about, that's for sure.

“Niko is working as hard as he can. He's progressing as quick as he can but it's going to be a patient journey for him.

“Niko wants to be fit yesterday. That's the way he is, that's the way he's built.

“He's desperate to help. I had a chat with Niko [on Friday]. We're going to send him back to see his family over Christmas because he's over here alone.

“It's going to be a long patient one for him but we need to keep him involved as long as we can.

“It's very difficult to put a time on [his return] because you know and I know the injury he's suffered could be anything from seven to 12 months. You can't cut any corners on it unfortunately so we have to be patient on it.”