GIOVANNI van Bronckhorst has admitted Rangers will be without John Souttar until after the World Cup.

The Ibrox boss has revealed Souttar will remain sidelined through injury until late December at the earliest. 

It's a blow for Van Bronckhorst and the player who has only managed one Scottish Premiership appearance since making his move from Hearts in the summer.

The Rangers boss also confirmed Tom Lawrence will also miss the match against Hearts on Saturday through injury.

But on a positive note, Kemar Roofe has returned to Rangers training after a spell on the sidelines.

Van Bronckhorst confirmed: "Ben [Davies] is back in the squad.

"John [Souttar], we expect him after the World Cup.

"Kemar Roofe is back in training now, doing big parts of the session with us. We will keep assessing him."