Bougherra set to miss Euro clash

Madjid Bougherra has been ruled out of Rangers’ Champions League game against Unirea Urziceni.

The defender suffered a knee injury in training on Monday and medical staff have confirmed he will play no part against the Romanian champions at Ibrox.

Bougherra will be assessed in the coming days and it is still unclear how serious his injury is.

Bougherra was set to return to the side after missing Saturday’s win over St Johnstone in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League when he failed to return from international duty with Algeria on time.

Walter Smith admitted after the 2-1 victory he had not spoken to the centre-half and was frustrated by the player’s absence.

However, the Rangers boss has since accepted Bougherra’s explanation that his return to Glasgow was delayed after his possessions – including his passport and mobile phone – had been stolen.

Smith confirmed the highly-rated defender was back in the squad at Monday’s pre-match media conference but his plans were thrown into disarray just hours later.

The void is likely to be filled by Lee McCulloch or Sasa Papac in a match which is crucial to the Scottish champions’ hopes of progressing from Group G.