Blow for Rangers as injury rules skipper Ferguson out of the start of the season

Ferguson was hampered by an ankle problem during the club's hectic finale to last season but was told he needed rest rather than an operation during the summer.  

The Scotland captain will miss out on Rangers' bid to qualify for the Champions League group stages and the start of his country's World Cup qualifying campaign.

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Sidelined: Ferguson will be forced to watch the start of the new campaign

Rangers confirmed that Ferguson would remain in Glasgow for treatment while his team-mates travel to Holland on Saturday to continue their pre-season training.

The UEFA Cup runners-up revealed on their website that the problem had been discovered in the early part of this week.

Tests confirmed the initial fears and the early prognosis is that the 30-year-old will be out for three to four months.

The midfielder has been hampered by ankle problems for much of the past three seasons.

Ferguson underwent surgery to repair ligaments in his right ankle in April 2006 after playing throughout the season with the help of injections to counteract pain caused by wear and tear.

The former Blackburn player was also hindered by an ankle problem for much of last season, but continued to play as he wanted to help his team's quadruple challenge.

He saw a specialist in March when he was given treatment that allowed him to play through the pain barrier.

Ferguson played a total of 65 games for club and country last term, and was an ever-present in his side's Clydesdale Bank Premier League campaign.

Rangers believed he needed rest rather than surgery this summer but Ferguson realised he had a problem in the early part of his club's pre-season programme.

His absence is a huge blow for Rangers boss Walter Smith, whose side face two qualifying rounds before the Champions League group stages.

Their first competitive game comes on July 30 when they face either Lithuanian side FBK Kaunas or Andorran outfit Santa Coloma.

Scotland boss George Burley will also have to cope without Ferguson in the two away trips to Macedonia and Iceland which kick off his World Cup campaign in September.

Ferguson will also be a major doubt for the visit of Norway on October 11.

Scotland boss George Burley admitted Ferguson's injury was a massive setback to the World Cup bid.  

Burley said: 'Barry has been a very important player for Scotland for a number of years and to lose our captain at the start of the qualifying campaign is a huge blow to everybody.  

'We'll be keeping in touch with Rangers and Barry over the next few months and our hope is that he gets back playing as soon as possible.'