Bougherra claimed he had lost his passport, mobile phone and some money in Paris on the way home and that was the reason he didn’t make it back on time.
He revealed he has already held clear-the-air talks with Smith and he’s hoping to play against Unirea tomorrow night. Bougherra explained: “After Algeria’s game against Rwanda last Sunday, I had some days off. I had to be in Glasgow on Friday morning, but on the way home, I lost my passport, phone and money in Paris. I asked my agent to let the club know while I was dealing with the problems regarding my papers.
“I finally arrived back in Glasgow on Friday night and Walter Smith decided not to play me because I’d not trained on the eve of the match. But he has not punished me.
“I am here at Rangers, I want to stay here and I do not see why I would go to war with the club or deliberately try to cause such trouble.”
Smith said: “He [Bougherra] was meant to report back on Thursday but didn’t return until Friday night. His agent spoke to Ally McCoist and told him that his bag had been stolen with his mobile phone, passport and credentials although they did agree that was on Monday.
The victory over the Perth side was achieved without Bougherra and Pedro Mendes, who had a thigh strain and remains a doubt for the match with Unirea Urziceni.
“[With Mendes] it’s not the same injury but he’s had a thigh strain already this season that he picked up against Portsmouth in pre-season,” added Smith.
“He then had to miss games, plus he’s had a suspension so he has had a stop-start to the season. He had a scan on Friday and it’s not bad so he will receive some treatment and we hope he will be okay.”
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