Ismael Bouzid in frame to make Hearts return against Rangers

ALGERIAN international defender Ismael Bouzid is in contention for a long-awaited comeback from injury when Hearts travel to face Rangers at Ibrox on Sunday.

FIT AGAIN: Ismael Bouzid

However, the match may come too early for captain Michael Stewart, who only resumed training yesterday following a calf problem.

Bouzid has not featured since Hearts' Co-operative Cup semi-final against St Mirren on 2 February. He damaged both hamstrings during the intervening period but completed a second closed-door friendly against Falkirk at Tynecastle on Tuesday and is consequently pushing for a start in Glasgow.

Jim Jefferies, the Hearts manager, is contemplating reinstating Bouzid in defence alongside Jason Thomson, who has recovered from illness.

"Jason was ill last week but he played in the closed-door game on Tuesday, as did Bouzid. It was Bouzid's second friendly game and he's had another week's training behind him as well. Whether he starts or not, that's something I'm not going to give away. I'll look at how well the defence did last week, what options we've got and how we want to set up before we decide."

Dawid Kucharski also played in the closed-door game in which Calum Elliot and Arvydas Novikovas both scored twice.

In Elliot's case, that could prompt a recall to the starting XI for Sunday, however Jefferies will make a last-minute decision on Stewart.

"Michael trained yesterday for the first time. Whether he'll be involved at the weekend depends on how he reacts," he continued. "We'll take a late decision because we don't want to rush into it with him."

Meanwhile, Hearts forwards will benefit from two consecutive days' training under the tutelage of legendary striker John Robertson before they confront Rangers.

Robertson has been coaching on a non-contract basis at Riccarton every Thursday for several weeks. Today he was due to return to the training ground to hold a second session.

"We spent time yesterday with the whole team working on crossing and finishing. John was involved in that," explained Jefferies who is confident Robertson's expertise will pay dividends for Hearts in time. "John would make a hell of a lot of money if he just came in for two or three sessions and made everybody better instantly. It doesn't happen like that," he continued.

"He's been concentrating on the younger players because there was nobody better than him in and around the penalty box for awareness and finishing."