Ianis Hagi and John Souttar are both on the verge of comebacks as Michael Beale revealed they have both returned to full contact training.
The Rangers pair have been long-term absentees with Souttar missing since the first day of the season while Hagi hasn't kicked a ball in almost 12 months. They are just two of the mountain of injury concerns Beale has had to contend with, but the manager is seeing the light at the end of the tunnel now with the backlog beginning to ease up.
Getting Souttar and Hagi back on the pitch will be another major boost and Beale expects to see them back on the pitch in January. He said: "Since Connor Goldson and Ben Davies have returned we look a lot stronger. John Souttar is back in training today and Leon King is doing well so we look stronger. As we get people back, the form will come.
"I was really pleased to see Souttar back in training. We took a little bit longer to get to the bottom of his issues and hopefully he can now stay fit. Even today on his first session back he showed his strengths.
"By the end of the month, hopefully, we will see Ianis Hagi and Souttar return to the team. Both are now in contact training.
"For us, as a staff arriving, we had a lot of injuries and a heavy schedule. We are now at the other side of that and in a positive place to decide who we need loving forward."
It was less good news for Tom Lawrence and Filip Helander though as Beale says the Swede is still focusing on his rehab and wouldn't commit to a timeline. He added: "Helander is a fantastic player who has sadly been unable to show it with injuries recently. At this moment in time, he has to focus on his rehab and at 29, he still has a future ahead of him. He is in here every day working hard."
And on Lawrence he said: "Tom Lawrence was away seeing a specialist yesterday, he has had a little discomfort. At this moment in time, we just need to wait on an update for this one."
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