Stuart McCall lifts lid on Rangers loan players

Kevin Mbabu and Haris Vuckic are put through their paces at Murray Park. Picture: SNS

The new Ibrox boss also revealed that Rangers were paying a portion of the quintet’s wages - even though Shane Ferguson and Gael Bigirimana will almost certainly never play for the Gers, while Kevin Mbabu’s chances are slim.

Haris Vuckic has been the only one of the five to play consistently, after defender Remie Streete suffered a hamstring injury less than 45 minutes into his Rangers debut.

And McCall told the Daily Record that Mbabu’s fitness is not up to scratch - despite playing two Under-20 matches and training with the first team.

The ex-Motherwell gaffer said: “Obviously Vuckic has been in the side and has done well. He is a good, a talented player.

“Streete came and played the first game and pulled his hamstring. He was put in straight away and he wasn’t ready to play a high-tempo game because he had no football behind him.

“He was out for a couple of weeks then came back and pulled his thigh, and he’s had an ear infection on top of that. So he’s two or three weeks again and working with the medical side of it. But I don’t think Remie has played lots of football over the past two years.”

And McCall - whose side take on Hibs at Easter Road tomorrow - explained that Bigirimana had a medical condition that the Ibrox consultant was dealing with, adding: “But he won’t play for us this season.”

Gael Bigirimana, Haris Vuckic and Remie Streete. Picture: SNS

Shane Ferguson - who was bizarrely called up to the Northern Ireland squad earlier this week before pulling out - is a ‘serious doubt to be involved’, according to McCall.

“[Shane] has had a long-standing serious knee injury, I think he’s been out for four or five months. He had a minor setback a couple of weeks ago because he was supposed to be up with us, so he won’t be up with us for another couple of weeks.

“By then he will have been out for five to six months with a knee injury so he’ll likely need another six weeks to get him anywhere near being available,” McCall added.