Kent set to be available for opener against Reds

Ryan Kent is free to kick off domestic campaign after French disciplinary officials confirmed they would not be reporting the Rangers winger’s red card against Lyon to their Hampden counterparts.

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard feared he could be without his £7 million man for his side’s opening two Scottish Premiership matches – away to Aberdeen and at home to St Mirren – after he was sent off at the Groupama Stadium on Thursday night.

Kent was dismissed just before half-time as he reacted angrily to being goaded by the French club’s Brazilian defender Marcelo with a petulant slap.

Had the French Football Federation decided to forward on referee Karim Abed’s report to the Scottish Football Association, it would have left the former Liverpool player staring at a two-game ban for violent conduct – ruling him out of Rangers’ opening trip to Aberdeen and their first home game against St Mirren.

Celtic found themselves in a similar situation last season when defender Jozo Simunovic sat out the Hoops’ first two league fixtures after being sent off in a warmup clash with St Gallen.

But Kent will not face a similar suspension after the FFF confirmed that it “does not plan to report the red card to the Scottish association” meaning Kent is also free to face Nice in their final Veolia Trophy clash on Saturday.

Kent’s sending-off was the only negative as Rangers stepped up their pre-season schedule with an impressive 2-0 win over Rudi Garcia’s team.

Reprieved: Ryan Kent