Naismith says he is feeling good about his recovery from injury

Rangers striker Steven Naismith says he will not rush his return to action after suffering a serious knee injury.

The forward faces up to a year out after sustaining cruciate ligament damage during the Scottish Cup semi-final against St Johnstone in May.

"I'm feeling great. There's a long way to go but hopefully I'm on track," the former Kilmarnock striker, 22, said.

"I'm not going to rush it and set dates. I'll take each week as it comes and I'll be back when I'm ready."

Naismith revealed that Ibrox coach Ian Durrant, who suffered a serious knee injury during his playing career, had been guiding him through his recovery.

"Ian had it bad and he's been giving me some good advice," he said.

"He went through the operations and the hard times. He's been great with me and ensured I'm not doing too much."

Naismith had his operation five weeks ago and said the period on the sidelines had given him time to reflect on Rangers' efforts last season.

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Walter Smith guided the club to success in the CIS Cup and Scottish Cup, before they lost the SPL title to Celtic and suffered disappointment in the Uefa Cup final.

"I got injured at the worst possible time when the games were coming thick and fast," said Naismith.

"It was a major blow, but just to be part of the squad going down to Manchester for the Uefa Cup final was an experience I'll never forget."

Smith has bolstered his attacking options by signing Kenny Miller, Andrius Velicka and Kyle Lafferty - sparking speculation Kris Boyd may leave Ibrox.

Cardiff had a �2.5m bid for the Scotland international rejected and are expected to increase their offer.

However, Naismith said strikers as potent as Boyd were few and far between.

"Kris maybe didn't play as much as he would've liked last season, but he still finished top goalscorer, which tells you something," he said.

"Hopefully, he'll be here for many years to come. He's the type of striker who will always get you goals and they don't come cheap these days."