RANGERS will let David Weir decide if he is fit enough to face Fiorentina here in Italy tomorrow night.

The 37-year-old defensive veteran is making a remarkable recovery from a groin injury which forced him off in Sunday's defeat to Celtic.

Walter Smith had already ruled him out of his plans for the Uefa Cup semi-final second leg in Florence.

The Rangers manager told us yesterday: "Davie won't make Thursday night, which is a blow considering how important a player he is for us."

But today Smith was savouring the prospect of having his full-strength defence in place to face the Italians as Rangers bid to reach their first European final since 1972.

"Davie has improved dramatically in the past 24 hours and the medical people are a lot more optimistic he could make it.

"It looks like it could have been more of a muscle spasm which appears to have eased considerably. We'll have to see how it goes from here.

"Obviously I'll now sit down with Davie and discuss things. He's an experienced player, and we'll see if he thinks he can play or not "But we are now very hopeful he can make it."

Weir had a training session yesterday and was optimistic today. "It's touch and go," he said. "I'm still having spasms, but I'm desperate to play."

He was always scheduled to travel, as were the other injured Gers players.He won't train in Italy but will have round-the- clock treatment before making a last-minute decision.

Rangers feared he had torn his adductor muscle, but a scan showed no major damage.

Weir was in fine form in the goal-less first leg at Ibrox, and Rangers will be desperate to have the Scotland cap in his usual place alongside Carlos Cuellar.

If he doesn't make it, Cuellar is expected to be partnered in central defence by Christian Dailly, as he was when Rangers beat Sporting Lisbon 2-0 in Portugal.

Either way, Weir now looks certain to be ready for Sunday at Hibs.

Steven Davis, who also suffered a groin problem in the Old Firm game, had already given Smith a boost by recovering and, with skipper Barry Ferguson and Kevin Thomson back from suspension, Rangers could be in much better shape than they may have anticipated on Monday.

Chris Burke could be on the bench tomorrow just 10 days after injuring an ankle in the Scottish Cup semi-final win over St Johnstone.

Smith took a call from Sir Alex Ferguson at the airport this morning, wishing him all the best.

"It was a fantastic achievement for Sir Alex to see him reach the Champions League Final again," he said.

"Obvioulsy it would be nice for two Scots managers to get to a European final in the same year, and especially with our final being played in Manchester."