HAD he been going man-to-man against the Boston Celtics, Mohamed Diomande could have understood his freak injury.
But after breaking his thumb against Glasgow Celtic, the Rangers star was totally slam-dunked.
Diomande went head-to-head with Celtic for the first time earlier this month[/caption] He broke his thumb during the match but can’t remember how it happened[/caption] The midfielder returned for Sunday’s Scottish Cup clash with Hearts[/caption]The injury — sustained in the 3-3 Ibrox epic on April 7 — required surgery, and ruled the Ivory Coast-born midfielder out of the games against Ross County and Dundee.
His absence was a huge blow as Gers dropped five points, handing the Hoops the title initiative.
Diomande, 22, returned to play a starring role in Rangers’ Scottish Cup semi-final win over Hearts last weekend.
And he spoke of his own frustrations at having to miss two massive matches in the run-in.
Diomande said: “I feel a little bit of pain, but it’s OK.
“I broke it during the Old Firm game. How did it happen? Well, that’s the question. I don’t really remember how.
“When it happened I thought I could play on. During the second half I started to play, but I was feeling a lot of pain.
“It’s very frustrating to miss games because I don’t play basketball. I play with my feet. But I could not really move the hand.
“It was frustrating not to be in the team to help the other boys. I tried to play against Ross County and Dundee.
“We tried to find a way that would allow me to be involved.
“But I had a scan which showed I had broken my thumb, and I needed to have the surgery.
“It’s back in place now and I’m back playing again.”
Three weeks ago, Philippe Clement’s side had the chance to lay down a huge marker in the Premiership title race.
But having blown their chance to move five points clear of Celtic, they now find themselves three behind with only five games to go.
The 2-0 semi-final win over Hearts stopped the rot — boosting confidence ahead of Sunday’s must-win showdown against St Mirren in Paisley.
Diomande added: “We’ve gone back to training and looked at what we did well against Hearts. The most important thing is we look at ourselves and try to improve.
“The next game is against St Mirren and we need to get another win.
“But the performance against Hearts, that’s our level. We know when we play like that, nobody can compete against us.
“So we’re just going to try to maintain the level that everybody expects us to be at.
“We also have big expectation levels for ourselves. Now we must do everything to make sure we don’t drop those levels.”
With a Scottish Cup final against Celtic back at Hampden on May 25 to savour, Diomande is fully focused on keeping Gers’ Treble dream alive in Paisley.
Diomande has been a fan favourite since his arrival in January[/caption]The midfielder arrived at Ibrox in January from top-flight Danish side Nordsjaelland determined to win silverware — and nothing’s changed.
Diomande said: “To win trophies? Yeah, that would be perfect for me. That was one of the reasons I joined this team.
“I’ll do what I can to help the team, to make myself better and to make my team-mates better.
“I’m going to do that by working hard in training, and by being therein the starting XI, giving my best.
“That’s why we have players on the bench. We depend on them also and know they can bring energy to the team.
“Everybody is working hard and we know what we need to do, whether you are starting or not starting.
“When players come into the team, they always do an amazing job because they are going to do what the other guys were doing, to push and work hard.
“It’s all about the team. We believe in each other and we will continue pushing for each other.”
Team-mate Todd Cantwell backed up Diomande’s comments about the importance of last weekend’s win over the Jambos.
Cantwell is ready for a title run in with Celtic[/caption]Gers had stuttered in the league over recent weeks — dropping ten points since the beginning of March — but have now bounced back with progress in the Cup.
Questions over their mentality were once again being asked, and Ibrox stars knew they had to get back to winning ways at Hampden.
Cantwell said: “It was good to get the victory. It was a must-win game against Hearts.
“We came out and we won. That’s what was in the plan. So the mission was a success.
“An early goal always helps any team. We got that against Hearts and it steadied us.
“We played some really good football in the first half. We were patient and made them run for it.
“A fast start helps everyone. That gave us confidence to play out from the back at our tempo.”
Next month’s Old Firm final will be the first in 22 years — but with the title still up for grabs, Cantwell reckons Gers have six cup finals ahead of them.
He added: “Every game needs to be seen as a final now. We’ve got to win every one.
“We’ve definitely got the capabilities to do so. I’ll give my absolute best until the end of the season.”
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