Ferguson returns 'stronger than ever'

Barry Ferguson came through his first hour of football since May and then insisted he would soon be back to his best. The Rangers captain made his long-awaited comeback from injury when he cruised through 62 minutes of a reserves match against St Mirren at Love Street yesterday.

It was his first taste of action since the Scottish Cup final win over Queen of the South and after undergoing ankle surgery in the summer.

The midfielder admits he will need a couple more games under his belt before his match fitness is 100 per cent but has no fears about returning to top form. "My ankle is as strong as it can be now and I've done a lot of strengthening work in the gym," he said. "I've already said that I would be back stronger than ever.

"Things are always at the back of your mind when you get an operation but I went to see the best surgeon around and he reassured me that when I got the operation, I would be back fine. True to his word, I've had no problems at all. The rehab has gone the way we wanted it to and I've been back for three weeks and now I've got my first game under my belt."

Several other first-team players – including Lee McCulloch, Christian Dailly and Maurice Edu – were also given a run-out yesterday as Rangers won 3-0 thanks to goals from McCulloch, Chris Burke and youngster Rory Loy.

Ferguson admitted afterwards: "I've been back training now for three weeks so I was happy to get 60 minutes under my belt. It felt good, there were no problems. I've had no problems since I started back my running. I felt good and will hopefully get another game next week."

Like Walter Smith, Ferguson believes Saturday's Clydesdale Bank Premier League game at Hamilton will come too soon having only just taken the first step on the comeback trail.

"You never know but the gaffer said yesterday that I would need two or three games and hopefully I'll get another reserve game next week," he said. "I've done all the running I can do but match fitness is a totally different thing and I think I'll need two or three games before I'm up to scratch."

5

The number of months that Barry Ferguson has been out following ankle surgery after the Scottish Cup final.