Philippe Clement boosted by imminent return of £6.5m Rangers duo just in time to face Celtic

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Rangers had a number of players out with injury who were forced to watch on from the stands as their team lost to Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup Final.

The Ibrox side have been battling against an atrocious injury record for the best part of three years and continue to be plagued by major issues at Auchenhowie.

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel and as Rangers gear up for a hectic festive run-in, the club is finally about to boosted by the imminent return of two injury-plagued stars.

All going to plan, both players should be back in the squad and up to speed when Rangers welcome Celtic to Ibrox in little over a fortnight’s time.

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Oscar Cortes Rangers return imminent

Oscar Cortes joined Rangers last January but has spent more time on the treatment table than the pitch for Philippe Clement’s team.

Initially signed on loan from French side RC Lens, Cortes impressed in his first few matches at Rangers before going under the knife with an injury sustained at Rugby Park in March.

Despite that issue, Rangers signed a loan extension with the Ligue 1 club in the summer, this time promising to pay £4m for Oscar Cortes come the end of this season.

But after pulling up on the opening day against Hearts in the Scottish Premiership, Cortes has suffered three back to back injuries and has had minimal impact on the campaign to date.

That could be about to change.

Now back in full training and available for selection, Oscar Cortes is expected to be in the squad for the Scottish Premiership visit of Dundee this weekend.

The Colombian winger, 21, hasn’t been seen since coming off the bench in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final against the same opposition in September.

Rabbi Matondo back in Ibrox fold

Rangers are also waiting on the imminent return of Welsh international winger Rabbi Matondo to their squad this winter.

The 24-year-old former Manchester City youth is in his third season at Rangers but has seen his entire stint at Ibrox painfully interrupted by injury.

The talented winger moved to Rangers in a £2.5m deal from Schalke 04 in 2022 but has had a stop, start Ibrox career where he has quite simply failed to deliver enough consistency.

Rangers rejected loan offers from the English Championship for Matondo before the end of the summer window, only for the winger to sustain an injury in the 3-0 Premiership defeat to Celtic on September 1st.

Over three months later, Philippe Clement has confirmed Rabbi Matondo is in full Rangers training although the attacker appears to be a little behind Oscar Cortes in terms of a return.

Nonetheless, Matondo is expected to be involved in the coming weeks as Rangers get a £6.5m attacking boost to the club’s frontline.

Rangers are also waiting on the return of Welsh playmaker Tom Lawrence, who is on ‘schedule’ according to Philippe Clement.

The Ibrox side will also be without Scotland international defender John Souttar for ‘several weeks’ after the centre-back sustained an injury against Tottenham Hotspur.