Ferguson last played for Scotland in November 2007 against Italy

Scotland captain Barry Ferguson and Alan Hutton have been restored to George Burley's 26-man squad for the friendly against Argentina.

Ferguson returns after a four-month ankle injury lay-off, while Hutton also comes back after being sidelined with a foot fracture since pre-season.

"It's great to include Barry in the squad, but I don't think he's 100% fit yet," Scotland manager Burley said.

"Rangers have two more games to play, so we'll be looking at it carefully."

And Ferguson's manager at Rangers, Walter Smith, believes the midfielder is ready to take his place in the starting XI.

"He's fit enough now, but he's obviously going to be short of match fitness and it will be doubtful if he would play for 90 minutes if selected," said Smith.

"But I think George just wants him back and involved with the group.

"He is captain of the country and he has been out injured and has missed the international games while George has been there.

"The national team will be a decent thing for him at the moment to be quite honest. This will be a step in the right direction for him."

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Ross McCormack has also been re-called, and Craig Gordon is in the squad, but the Sunderland goalkeeper is struggling with injury.

Gordon's club manager Roy Keane said he expects his number one to be absent for the English Premier League match on Saturday at Ewood Park.

"We're hopeful of getting him back in the next week or two, but he definitely won't be available for Blackburn." said Keane.

"It's just a very slow injury, he had a bad ankle twist about three weeks ago, and its one of them where it's a very slow recovery."

Gordon's possible exclusion could mean a second international start for Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor.

Elsewhere, there is no place for Rangers defender David Weir or striker Garry O'Connor of Birmingham City.

And Burley was also unable to call on the services of Rangers Kevin Thomson, after the midfielder suffered a knee injury on Saturday that looks likely to have ended his season.

"Kevin was very much in our thoughts, I really feel for the boy," said the Scotland manager.

"We have just got to keep our fingers crossed he recovers quickly."

Meanwhile, new Argentina manager Diego Maradona has named his squad for the Hampden friendly.

Lionel Messi is the most notable absentee - with the Argentine coach failing to persuade Barcelona to release the player to face Scotland.

Atletico Madrid striker Sergio Aguero will miss the match. He has returned to Spain to be with his wife Giannina, Maradona's daughter, after she suffered a minor complication to her pregnancy.

All but three of the squad are European based - including Manchester United's Carlos Tevez and Newcastle's Fabricio Coloccini.

Scotland squad:

Goalkeepers: Craig Gordon (Sunderland), David Marshall (Norwich City), Allan McGregor (Rangers)

Defenders: Graham Alexander (Burnley), Darren Barr (Falkirk), Christophe Berra (Hearts), Kirk Broadfoot (Rangers), Gary Caldwell (Celtic), Alan Hutton (Tottenham Hotspur), Stephen McManus (Celtic), Jamie McAllister (Bristol City), Gary Naysmith (Sheffield United)

Midfielders: Scott Brown (Celtic), Kris Commons (Derby County), Barry Ferguson (Rangers), Darren Fletcher (Manchester United), Paul Hartley (Celtic), Shaun Maloney (Celtic), James Morrison (West Bromwich Albion), Barry Robson (Celtic)

Forwards: David Clarkson (Motherwell), Steven Fletcher (Hibernian), Chris Iwelumo (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Ross McCormack (Cardiff City), James McFadden (Birmingham City), Kenny Miller (Rangers)

Argentina squad:

Goalkeepers: Juan Pablo Carrizo (Lazio), Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar)

Defenders: Javier Zanetti (Inter), Nicolas Burdisso (Inter), Martin Demichelis (Bayern Munich), Daniel Diaz (Getafe), Gabriel Heinze (Real Madrid), Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle), Emilano Papa (Velez Sarsfield), Cristian Villagra (River Plate)

Midfielders: Javier Mascherano (Liverpool), Maximiliano Rodriguez (Atletico Madrid), Fernando Gago (Real Madrid), Jonas Gutierrez (Newcastle), Luis Gonzalez (FC Porto), Jose Sosa (Bayern Munich), Daniel Montenegro (Independiente)

Forwards: Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid), Carlos Tevez (Manchester United), Lisandro Lopez (FC Porto), Ezequiel Lavezzi (Napoli), German Denis (Napoli)

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