Al Kellock, the Glasgow Warriors captain, says he is delighted to be back in action after a three-month absence with an arm injury, writes Alasdair Reid.

The lock has been named in the Ayr starting XV for tonight's RBS Premiership match with Glasgow Hawks, his first outing for the club and his first game since he played for the Warriors against Cardiff last December. Kellock is one of four Warriors players included in the Ayr side for a fixture that has acquired a keen edge of rivalry over the past few seasons. The others are fly-half Finn Russell, hooker Dougie Hall and centre Mark Bennett.

"I'm really happy to be able to return to action this weekend and I'm looking forward to playing for Ayr," said the Scotland forward. "I know quite a few of the guys, having trained and played with them at Glasgow. Ayr have been fantastic with me and this is a great opportunity for me to hopefully help them and it'll be good to get back out on to the pitch and play."

Peter Laverie, the Ayr coach, acknowledged that his players are not short of incentive for the match. "Our players will be keen to avenge their cup quarter-final defeat by Hawks in what is our final home game of the season before we head to Gala and Hawick.

"Both sides know each other well and there is always the added edge of local rivalry. A good performance will set us up for the remainder of the league programme."