ALEX McLEISH last night confirmed that he expects Dado Prso and Craig Moore to be fit for Rangers's crucial UEFA Cup encounter with Maritimo.
Prso, who helped Monaco to the final of last season's Champions League, missed the 2-0 win over Dundee with a hamstring problem, while Moore was left confined to bed by a virus.
Paolo Vanoli was replaced at half-time at Dens Park but he should also be available, with McLeish's defensive options further increased by the recovery of Maurice Ross from a groin problem.
The positive injury reports are welcome news for McLeish, who has seen his squad look distinctly threadbare in recent weeks.
He said: ''Dado has still to rejoin training but we believe he will be OK and he has a great reputation in Europe, so his availability will be big bonus.
''We think Craig will be OK too. He has been in his bed all weekend but we expect that he will be fit for selection.
''Paolo should be fine. He came off at half-time with a tight hamstring but we believe he should be completely clear by Thursday. Maurice Ross will also be available to me after recovering from his groin problem. So, overall, I'm pleased to have some more options.''
Meanwhile, Jonay Hernandez, the Dundee defender, believes Nacho Novo would have emulated Henrik Larsson in refusing to celebrate had the Dens Park fans not booed him. Novo, who left Dundee for Rangers in a (pounds) 350,000 transfer this summer, scored twice on his return to the club on Sunday.
Larsson was restrained when scoring for Barcelona at Parkhead and Hernandez admits he expected the same.
He said: ''I was surprised he celebrated the goal because of respect for his old team-mates. But in the end, he celebrated the goal.
''The supporters were shouting at him and I think that is the reason why.''
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article