McCulloch ready for Rangers return

Lee McCulloch is fit to return for Rangers in the vital Champions League game against Unirea Urziceni in a welcome boost to manager Walter Smith.

The midfielder has been out of action since suffering a thigh injury during the draw with Hibernian last month.

He travelled with the rest of the team to Bucharest today and is expected to play a part in tomorrow night’s game against the Romanian champions, as Rangers seek to make amends for the 4-1 thrashing in their last game.

However, Madjid Bougherra has been ruled out as he has still not recovered from the knee injury he picked up in training a few weeks ago.

Provisional squad: McGregor, Whittaker, Papac, Weir, McCulloch, Lafferty, Davis, Thomson, Rothen, Novo, Naismith, Miller, Beasley, Smith, Fleck, Boyd, Wilson, Alexander.