Gers await injury news

Rangers were today expecting to learn the full extent of injuries suffered by Pedro Mendes and Madjid Bougherra after both players underwent scans.

Mendes was forced out of Tuesday’s 4-1 defeat to Unirea Urziceni in the Champions League amid fears he could be out for two months with knee ligament damage.

Bougherra missed the visit of the Romanian champions after suffering a knee injury in training and neither player is likely to be involved when Hibernian visit Ibrox this weekend.

Victory for the Edinburgh club would allow them to leapfrog the defending champions into pole position in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.

Remaining there is unlikely but Rangers boss Walter Smith does expect John Hughes’ men to be challenging for the ’best of the rest’ tag this term.

Smith said: “This year I think they will be challenging the likes of Hearts, Dundee United and Aberdeen for European places.”