Philippe Clement reveals Rangers injury absentee for Hearts opener and whether two new signings will play

Both players could be in line to make their debuts at Tynecastle Park after becoming Rangers eighth and ninth recruits of the summer window over the past week. Dutch centre-back Propper was signed on Thursday from FC Twente, where he was club captain, while winger Cerny arrived on a season-long loan from Wolfsburg seven days ago.

"Propper has great qualities he will help the squad to play good football and also will be great with the young players with his experience," Clement said of his latest new arrival. "Having someone like him is gold for players like Clinton Nsiala, it's also why we re-signed Leon Balogun. We want a top sport culture here where every day we demand ambition to become better."

On the prospect of the 30-year-old featuring against Hearts, Clement added: "We don't know yet with Propper ahead of tomorrow, we are waiting on all papers to be final. Physically he is ready, but will of course need to adapt to our style of play."

Cerny, meanwhile, is behind schedule in his preparation for the new season after being given time off by his German parent club to recover from his participation in Euro 2024 with the Czech Republic. The 26-year-old could feature from the bench, with Clement explaining: "Cerny is available to play but we need to be smart with him as he had time off after the Euros and has only trained this week."

Clement, who has signed a Rangers contract extension until the summer of 2028, is eagerly anticipating the start of the new season after claiming that he is now working with an improved squad after a major summer rebuild, with the prospect of further arrivals to come. "It is a squad with a lot of potential, more potential than last season," he explained. "We still have lots to do to improve and come better. I think you will see some interesting things tomorrow, but we are not at our best yet.

"There needs to be patience, that is always the challenge and some players adapt very fast and some need weeks and months. I feel a lot of excitement this week, the players are up for it and it is a really good vide in the building."

On the prospect of further additions before the window closes, Clement added: "We still have positions we would like to improve on. Everyone is working at maximum to get the best squad possible in this window."

Meanwhile, utility player Dujon Sterling will sit out the trip to Tynecastle with the injury that also kept him out of the 4-4 friendly draw with Union Berlin last weekend but could return for the crunch midweek trip to Poland to face Dinamo Kyiv in the Champions League third qualifying round first leg.

"Dujon will not be available for Saturday, but hopefully we will have him back ready for Tuesday," Clement added.