Rangers pair aim to be fit for Old Firm game

Rangers' hopes of taking the Scottish Premier League title away from Celtic have been improved by the determination of two key players to return to full fitness prior to Saturday's Old Firm Glasgow derby.

The defender Maurice Ross and playmaker Ronald de Boer are desperate to shrug off injuries to play their part at Parkhead. De Boer insists he will not allow a calf injury to prevent him playing while Ross came through a recent Under-21 game with Motherwell unscathed after missing the last three matches through a hamstring problem.

Ross said: "I'm feeling good at the moment and I don't think my fitness will be a big problem for me. I've been through a decent recovery with the physios so I should be fine."

De Boer missed the win at Livingston last Sunday with a leg injury to spark fears that he will not be fit for the Glasgow derby. However, the former Barcelona man is adamant that his calf strain will not prevent him from taking part. He said: "I've been on the scoresheet twice against them this season and I hope to score at Parkhead on Saturday. But Celtic are a strong team and we know that we will have to be at our best."

Rangers go into the game six points ahead of their rivals, although Celtic have a game in hand. The Hoops showed their resilience with an injury-time winner against Hibernian on Sunday to take all three points three days after booking their place in the quarter-final of the Uefa Cup against Liverpool.

The Celtic striker Henrik Larsson is unlikely to have recovered from his double jaw fracture in time for the game. That is bad news for Celtic as they are more likely to defeat their rivals when the Swede's name is on the scoresheet.

Larsson failed to find the back of the net against Rangers during his first season at Parkhead, in 1997-98. But the two sides have meet 23 times since Larsson's arrival in Glasgow and, in the eight games Celtic have won, the striker has scored six times.