McCulloch on course to face St Mirren

Lee McCulloch is winning his fitness battle to face St Mirren this weekend after injury wrecked his hopes of a Scotland comeback midweek.

The midfielder limped out of Sunday’s Old Firm derby triumph with an ankle injury, which kept him out of the national team’s win over Czech Republic on Wednesday night.

He had hoped to win his first cap since ’retiring’ from international football under previous boss George Burley to focus on his club career instead.

McCulloch remained with the rest of the squad before reporting back to Murray Park today, where he took part in a light training session.

The 31-year-old will undergo a fitness test tomorrow ahead of the visit of Saints in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.

But, according to the club’s official website, the early indications are that he should be ready to return to the starting line-up for the clash at Ibrox.

Rangers are also waiting to discover if Madjid Bougherra will be fit for the game after he missed Algeria’s friendly with Serbia.

The defender aggravated a hamstring strain during Sunday’s game against Celtic and was not risked for his country’s 3-0 defeat last night.

Bougherra, who flew out of Glasgow just hours after the 1-0 victory over their city rivals, will now return to Scotland ahead of the SPL home clash with the Buddies.

He will be assessed by Gers physio Pip Yeates on his arrival back at Murray Park with the hope of being available to take on Gus MacPherson’s team.

If Bougherra fails to make it, Danny Wilson – an unused substitute for Scotland Under-21s against Azerbaijan on Tuesday – is the most likely candidate to step in.