DEREK MCINNES EXPECTS LAWRENCE SHANKLAND BACK IN EARLY DECEMBER

Rangers captain Lawrence Shankland could return from hamstring surgery in early December, manager Derek McInnes said. Shankland injured his hamstring in the opening stages of Rangers’ 1-0 win over Motherwell on 5 September. He subsequently underwent surgery, with an earlier estimate putting his absence at up to four months. McInnes’s latest estimate would place his return roughly three months after the injury. Shankland will miss Rangers’ match against his former club Hearts at Tynecastle on Wednesday evening.

Shankland said three weeks ago that his recovery was going well, without giving a date for his return. He said he would be back “as soon as I can”. Rangers had lost fellow forward Youssef Chermiti to an anterior cruciate ligament injury the previous month, with that injury expected to keep him out for the season. Shankland joined Rangers in the summer after playing for Hearts. His absence leaves Rangers without either player for the visit to Tynecastle.

McInnes expects Shankland and team-mate Cammy Devlin, who also played for Hearts, to tell the Rangers squad what to expect there. Asked about Shankland’s role in the match, McInnes said: “I think his role will be absolutely zero to be honest!” He said Shankland would probably speak to players who had not visited Tynecastle before. McInnes added that preparing the squad was also his responsibility and the responsibility of his staff. He said Shankland’s influence on Wednesday would fall short of what Rangers had wanted, but that the captain would still have a role off the pitch.