Connor Goldson has returned to Rangers training and could face Hibs - but he is NOT 100 per cent fit.
The ever-present stopper - vitally important to the Light Blues - suffered an injury in during a Champions League clash with Liverpool in late October and has been an absentee ever since. However, he is ahead of schedule in his recovery and is now back on the training pitch in a bid to return to the fold as Michael Beale's era gets underway. He's been a key player ever since his arrival under Steven Gerrard - when the new boss was No2 at the club - and will adopt a similar position in the new regime.
Ben Davies has also been back training as the Rangers defence options increase drastically having heavily relied on highly-regarded youngster Leon King and James Sands. After the convincing friendly win over Bayer Leverkusen at the weekend the manager revealed both would return to training within 24-48 hours. That has been the case but both are not at full fitness for the big return.
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Providing an update on the state of play, Beale told the media in his pre-match Hibs press conference: " Both [Connor] Goldson and [Ben] Davies trained this week.
"They are not 100 per cent for the game but it is just now about getting them ready for 90 minutes. Having 5 subs allows me to help work them back into the game.
"The quicker we can get Connor (Goldson) back it will make us a stronger Rangers for sure."
Pressed if they will be in the squad, he added: "They are available for selection both of them."
Rangers can close the gap on Ange Postecoglou and Celtic to six points ahead of their trip to Aberdeen. They resume from the World Cup shutdown on Saturday lunchtime at Pittodrie with both clubs facing three further fixtures each before a huge Old Firm showdown on January 2 in Govan.
He continued: "We are ready to go.
"I need to see a team that is aggressive and shows the same quality we did at the weekend.
"I can't wait for tomorrow night, it will be a hugely proud moment for me. It is important we put on a performance for the fans tomorrow."
On Tom Lawrence and John Souttar, he revealed:" We are looking at around mid-January for Lawrence and Souttar to be returning which is good news.
" It is important we don't push any player that is not quite ready, we want them back in a good place and give everyone an opportunity to improve."
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