Thomson unlikely to make SPL opener

11 August 2009 16:56
Thomson resumed training with the rest of the squad at the beginning of pre-season after recovering from a cruciate ligament injury sustained in November last year. The 24-year-old said: "I'm probably a couple of games away from being fully fit and when I play again I'm still going to be ring-rusty. "Hopefully I'll still be involved and be part of the squad but Saturday might be just too soon." Walter Smith has used Thomson sparingly in their pre-season campaign in a bid to gradually reintroduce him to the team. Smith gave Thomson four appearances of 45 minutes or less in the official friendlies before handing him a longer run-out in a closed-doors match against Hamilton on Monday. And the former Hibernian captain knows he has some way to go to convince Smith he is ready for competitive action. "I tell him every day that I'm ready but he sees in training that I'm not," Thomson added. "He knows the standard I can play and he knows I'm a wee bit off the pace of the rest of the boys. "I've taken part in almost 90% of pre-season and I haven't played the game time that the rest of the boys have played, so naturally I'm going to be a bit behind them but I'm working hard." Thomson, who was today unveiled as the Rangers Charity Foundation's new charity champion, was arguably in the form of his career when he suffered the injury for the second time at Rugby Park. But he is not making any promises about instantly replicating those performances in the coming weeks. "I'm not going to put pressure on myself," he said. "I was playing some good football before I got injured. "I know I'm not going to go straight back in and set the heather on fire. "I need to find my feet again - but I'll be working as hard as I can. "The last time I was out for 11 months but things have changed - the surgery has changed. This time I have been out for less than nine months. "My rehab last time was nine months and this time it was six months, so I can't compare the comebacks and how long it will take to get back to my best." As well as missing out on much of Rangers' double-winning campaign, Thomson lost out on the chance to take part in Scotland's World Cup qualification bid last term. Thomson won his sole international cap in a friendly against Northern Ireland a year ago and will watch Wednesday's qualifier against Norway with some envy. "It's hard to watch but it's probably harder not being involved in the first game of the season," said Thomson, whose first act in his new role was to launch a charity partnership with the Teenage Cancer Trust. "I will be like most people, sitting watching the game wishing them all the best. I'll send a few texts to the boys wishing them well. I'm sure they can do it. "If that means I'll be involved in some important games in the future then great." Scotland's next important games come quickly with the double header against Macedonia and Holland in the first 10 days of September. "I'm not really thinking about that," Thomson added. "The only thing on my mind is getting back fit and playing for Rangers. "Hopefully if I can play the football I was playing before I get injured, then I can be involved in the future."

Source: Team_Talk