Ianis Hagi will return to action this month - weeks ahead of schedule - according to his former Under 21s manager in Romania.
The Rangers playmaker has been out of action for almost a year since injuring his knee and undergoing surgery following a Scottish Cup tie against Stirling Albion last January.
New boss Michael Beale has made it clear he sees the 24-year-old as an important part of his plans for his vision at Ibrox and immediately extended the contract of the son of former Real Madrid and Barcelona legend Gheorghe.
Beale predicted it would take until February before Hagi returned to action.
However, former Romania Under 21s boss Florin Bratu reckons Hagi will back in action in January and will immediately be called up for Romania's opening Euro 2024 qualifiers in March against Andorra and Belarus.
He said: "Ianis looks good physically, his legs look good. After such an operation, it is very important to restore your muscles and he seems to have restored them.
"Now it is the decision of the medical staff.
"But I have been told he will start playing for Rangers again in January. I believe he will start playing substitute appearances for 20 or 30 minutes.
"As soon as he is back in the team, he will be called up for Romania because he is such an important player.
"But we have to be patient and I would expect it to take another four to six months for him to reach his peak condition from when he eventually returns to the pitch with Rangers."
