Will Kosta Nedeljkovic return to Rangers with Serbia intentions under scrutiny?

Rangers defender Kosta Nedeljkovic didn't feature for Serbia against Greece on Thursday.

The right-back joined his national side for the international break but wasn't even in the squad that lost 2-1 to Ivan Jovanovic's team on 24 September.

Derek McInnes hasn't been able to rely on the former Aston Villa ace in recent weeks because of fitness issues.

It looks like Nedeljkovic is still dealing with his injury after missing Serbia's UEFA Nations League clash.

It makes no sense for Veljko Paunovic to call the right-back up if he can't play.

Staying at Ibrox would've made much more sense for the defender to recover and get back to full fitness during the three-week break.

Why Derek McInnes will be fuming at Rangers after Kosta Nedeljkovic development

Dujon Sterling has a poor injury record at Rangers and after the 1-0 win over Celtic, McInnes admitted that the defender was feeling his hamstring.

The Gers will need to be cautious and manage the Englishman's minutes to ensure he doesn't miss a large chunk of games with another fitness issue.

Having Nedeljkovic ready to cover at right-back is essential at Ibrox and Serbia have now seemingly taken a gamble on him.

The Eagles' decision to call up the defender when he's clearly not fully fit will likely be under scrutiny by the Glaswegian outfit.

If Paunovic can't make use of Nedeljkovic during the Nations League, then he should return to Ibrox immediately to continue his recovery.

How Derek McInnes has finally found great balance at Ibrox

Last season, Danny Rohl kept on changing his Rangers backline as he didn't know his best lineup.

Injuries to Sterling and Tuur Rommens also didn't help the German manager's cause at Ibrox.

After the defensive departures in the summer, McInnes had to oversee a major defensive rebuild and it's finally starting to take shape.

Sterling's consistency has given the ex-Hearts boss a sigh of relief at right-back.

Emmanuel Fernandez and Olwethu Mkahanya are starting to form a solid partnership, while James Penrice has overtaken Rommens in the pecking order.

McInnes has brought balance to the team by tucking Sterling in with the two centre-backs and asking the AEK Athens loanee to play as an inverted full-back.

The Scottish manager seems to have found a winning formula in Govan.