www.football-live.co.nr

McGregor's injury saw him miss the Uefa Cup final

Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor has been given permission to return to full training after recovering from ankle and knee injuries.

The 26-year-old has not played since sustaining damage to his ankle during an Old Firm defeat in April.

During his absence, McGregor underwent an operation to cure a knee problem.

Manager Walter Smith told the club website: "I would hope that, within the next week, he will be in among the rest of the players on a full-time basis."

McGregor, who signed a new five-year contract with the Ibrox club last week, is now likely to take part in the pre-season tour of Netherlands and Germany.

We could afford to lose a few players. But, if we do that, our overall squad won't be affected too greatly Rangers manager Walter Smith

Rangers' first game of the new season will be the Champions League qualifying match against either Santa Coloma or FBK Kaunas at the end of July.

"We will give him plenty of time to make sure he is right and I'm sure he'll be ready to resume playing when we go over to Holland and Germany," added Smith.

"With a week of games and training over there, I think Allan will be ready to come back in at some point.

"In this case, he'll be able to spend a lot of next week gaining a level of fitness before we are back into matches again."

Meanwhile, Smith admits that some of the club's strikers may leave the club this summer.

MY SPORT: DEBATE Which strikers should Rangers sell?

The purchases of Kenny Miller and Kyle Lafferty and the imminent arrival of Andrius Velicka has sparked speculation over the Ibrox futures of Kris Boyd, Daniel Cousin and Jean-Claude Darcheville.

"With regards to our strikers, it is obvious to suggest people might move on when you sign a few first, but we want good competition in the team," said Smith.