Arteta to miss Old Firm clash

Rangers manager Alex McLeish has confirmed midfielder Mikel Arteta will miss the Old Firm derby tomorrow.

The former Barcelona man has not recovered from his hamstring injury and will miss the showdown against Celtic at Ibrox.

But McLeish also admitted defender Maurice Ross and winger Peter Lovenkrands - a recent thorn in the Hoops’ side – are both set to feature.

Danish international Lovenkrands scored the winner against Celtic in the Scottish Cup final in May but had not featured for a month before coming on as a substitute in the 4-3 win over Livingston in midweek.

McLeish told Rangers World: “As expected, Mikel won’t make it and that’s disappointing for us but we’ll reshuffle the pack and we have got quality players to replace him.

“Mikel was looking forward to the game but I’m sure there will be plenty more Old Firm clashes for him to play in.

“The good news is that all the guys came through unscathed from the Livingston match and we were able to give Barry Ferguson, Ronald de Boer and Arthur Numan a wee rest near the end.

“We also had a chance to look at Maurice Ross and Peter Lovenkrands against Livi and they are now in contention for Celtic.”

PROVISIONAL SQUAD: Klos, Ricksen, Moore, Amoruso, Numan, Ferguson, Caniggia, Mols, McCann, De Boer, Konterman, Muscat, Latapy, Ross, McGregor, Arveladze, Lovenkrands, Hughes, Dodds, Malcolm.