Smith happy with Thomson progress

Kevin Thomson could be set to start his first competitive game in more than nine months on Sunday after Rangers boss Walter Smith hinted he would play the midfielder at Hearts.

Thomson, 24, featured for the final 13 minutes of Saturday’s opening Clydesdale Bank Premier League game of the season against Falkirk.

That marked his first-team comeback from a cruciate knee ligament injury suffered at Kilmarnock last November when he collided with David Fernandez.

Thomson featured prominently for the Light Blues during pre-season, playing some part in all but one game.

And while Smith believes he is not yet capable of completing a full 90 minutes, he is sure Thomson is ready to start at Tynecastle this weekend.

“It’ll take Kevin a period of time to get back to full match fitness and even then, it’ll take a few games to get going,” Smith told his club’s website, www.rangers.co.uk.

“He is fortunate in the sense he has had the same injury before so he knows exactly what to expect in his bid to get back to fitness.

“We now have to move on to a situation where Kevin starts matches then comes off after a while rather than begins on the bench and comes on as a substitute.

“He is just about ready for that situation now and we are happy with the progress he is making.”