The Scotland international has been troubled by a calf injury since October but coach Jozef Venglos is hopeful that he will be available for the short trip to Ibrox on January 3.

"Our physio spoke with the specialist, who said the damage isn't as severe as first imagined," he said.

"It is very important to have Craig in the team. He's a top competitive player, who isn't used to being out of the game for so long with injury."

Celtic captain Tom Boyd believes they must beat Rangers to have a realistic chance of retaining the league title.

"We have been very disappointing away from home. There isn't any one thing which explains it, but we have been letting teams score first against us," he admitted.