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Former Rangers marksman ends 240-day wait in dramatic fashion as side take major step towards Europe Ex-Rangers man makes his mark after long injury layoff. Former Rangers striker Cyriel Dessers dramatically ended his 240-day injury nightmare by scoring an extra-time goal to help Panathinaikos seal their place in the Conference League playoffs with a 2-1 extra-time win over CSKA Sofia on Tuesday night. Dessers, 31, has spent almost eight months on the sidelines after picking up a thigh injury during a training session with Nigeria at the African Cups of Nations in January. Amping up his return to action in March, the frontman reported a recurring discomfort in his leg, with scans later showing he had ruptured his right leg tendon. A polarising figure during his time at Rangers, he scored 52 goals in all competitions during his two-season stay at Ibrox. He left the club almost exactly one year ago on deadline day, signing for Panathinaikos in a deal thought to be worth around £3.5million, only to find his debut season at the club severely disrupted by injury. He played just 182 minutes of league football last season before being forced to undergo rectus femoris tendon surgery in April. Sign up to The Scotsman’s daily football newsletter to get unrivalled Scottish football news and analysis - subscribe for free here. Making his first appearance for Panathinaikos since he started and scored in a 2-1 win over NFC Volos in the Greek Super League on December 14, the former Ibrox marksman was introduced to the pitch as a replacement Elmin Rastoder in the 65th minute substitute in last night Conference League third round qualifier second-leg against CSKA Sofia, with the Panathinaikos leading 1-0 (2-1 on aggregate) thanks to a second-half strike from Levi Garcia. However, just as it looked as though Dessers’ side had edged out their Bulgarian opponents, the tie was levelled with three minutes remaining when Lasha Dvali lashed home Mamadou Diallo’s flick-on from close range, taking the game into extra time. Panathinaikos and Dessers were not to be denied though, with former Rangers man delivering a timely reminder of his goal-scoring talents when he poked home Giorgos Kyriakopoulos’ cross from close range in the fifth minute of extra-time to take his side into the Conference League playoff rounds with a 2-1 win (3-2 on aggregate), where they’ll face the loser of the Europa League playoff between Besiktas and Hradec Kralove for a place on the League Phase of the competition. Following the game, head coach Jacob Neestrup said: “The victory was down to the mentality of the players and the excellent work of the medical staff who managed to get both Dessers and Garcia ready a little earlier. The most important thing is that we qualified. We may not have played good soccer, but our goal was to qualify, and we did it. Now we look to the next opponent, whoever that may be.” Comments Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.