Michael Beale has claimed Ianis Hagi and John Souttar will be available for selection by the end of the month, after both rejoined full-contact training for the first time.

The Romanian and Scottish duo, who have been part of an injury crisis spelling back a year at Rangers, could finally be set to feature at long last with Beale suggesting both are in full opposition training and the timeframe for their selection is the end of the month.

Rangers fans would do well to take these claims with a huge sack of Saxa – Beale has been economical with the truth about situations like these already, telling us Colak would be 100% available for Ross County when he didn’t finally appear on the bench till last Monday.

We also have tonnes of experience with “7-10 days” coined originally by Mark Warburton but mastered by Beale’s old boss Steven Gerrard, so we do not take at face value any claims about players, recoveries, or timelines.

That said, we don’t think he’d have any reason to fib about Hagi and Souttar at least being in full contact training and that is pleasing.

It means that in the potentially near future, the central defender pool will be Goldson, Davies, King, Sands and Souttar, with a slim chance of Filip Helander joining them.

And in attacking midfield, arguably Rangers’ strongest area, it’s Tillman, Arfield, Lowry, and Hagi.

The one we hear very little on is Tom Lawrence, and we’d love him back among the options too – he’s another who’s gotten better in his absence.

But all in good time. Beale claims progress for Souttar and Hagi, and it’s a start for, hopefully, the beginning of the end of Rangers’ diabolical injury crisis. In saying that, Chelsea have it just as bad right now with around 11 players out through injury as well.

So we’re not the only club blighted by this.