Celtic hero nears pivotal injury comeback as Benfica get timely boost ahead of Rangers clash

Celtic and Rangers both progressed through to the semi finals of the Scottish Cup after defeating Livingston and Hibs, respectively - but what else is happening in Glasgow today?

A Celts star is on his way back from an injury - meanwhile, three Benfica players are set to return to the team for their game against the Light Blues on Thursday.

Reo Hatate nearing Celtic comeback following injury

Reo Hatate hasn't played a competitive fixture for Celtic since January, but recent developments revealed that the Japanese international isn't far away from a return. He picked up an injury at the Asian Cup, having only played in 11 games this season across all club competitions.

On Hatate's current condition, Brendan Rodgers said: "Reo is progressing well. He’s out on the pitch doing his work so we’re hoping that after the international break he’ll be with the squad. He’ll be training with the group in the international break and will be available afterwards. It’s more looking for the Livingston game after the break.

"After the international break, we’ve got a big game then. Just having the availability of that level of player, the dynamism he has, clearly it’s something that we’ve missed. So to have him back will be great."

Trio of Benfica players to return for Rangers clash

Angel Di Maria, Rafa Silva and Joao Neves were all absent for Benfica's last game, when they defeated Estoril Praia by a score of 3-1. However, it has been revealed that they were merely being rested - they are not injured and therefore will be available to play against Rangers on Thursday evening.

On why he chose to rest Di Maria, Rafa and Neves, Benfica boss Roger Schmidt said to Record: "When we look at the last three games, against Sporting, FC Porto and Glasgow Rangers, we see that players like João Neves, Rafa and Di María had many intense duels. In my opinion, this was the moment to take It's up to them, to protect them. We have another important game on Thursday. It was very important to rest some players today."