Danny is my best friend, my wingman! Injury was a punch in the face but he came back stronger. That's his mentality

Benni: Gers on to a winner

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THERE'S a parallel universe somewhere where a veteran defender named Danny Rohl is winding down his career in the German lower leagues.

He's the version who escaped a devastating knee injury that would have forced him to abandon his dreams of making it as a professional aged only 21.

Wherever he is, he'll likely not even have thought about taking a step into coaching yet, never mind have clocked up a wealth of experience with one of the biggest clubs in the world.

But back in our dimension, the Rohl as we know him has every reason to be grateful for the fact that opportunity knocked just when it appeared that fate's sliding doors had locked him out of the life hed been planning, It was while playing with his hometown club FSV Zwickau that the future Rangers boss saw his ambitions of making a living from the game taken away by a cruel ACL tear.

Or so he thought.

With his playing career over, Rohl turned his attention to a new life on the sidelines.

And by lucky coincidence his first steps at the University of Leipzig coincided with Red Bull's decision to plough millions into the local team languishing in the German fifth tier.

It was with the upwardly mobile outfit that Rohl found his wings in coaching.

From his first job as a video analyst, he soared up the pecking order, going from the youthteam backroom staff to assisting first-team bosses Ralf Rangnick and Ralph Hasenhuttl as RB Leipzig clambered their way to the Bundesliga.

And his climb would continue when he hooked up with Hansi Flick at Bayern Munich and the German national team before branching out on his own as boss of Sheffield Wednesday and now Rangers.