Levein waiting on Ferguson

Craig Levein is hoping to find out next week if Barry Ferguson is to return to the Scotland fold.

The Birmingham midfielder, 32, was banished from international football following the infamous "Boozegate" affair under George Burley's regime.

Burley`s successor Levein held out an olive branch to the former Rangers captain back in March and the Scotland boss told Real Radio: "I will find out in the next week to 10 days. We had an agreement that we would leave it over the summer and then I would speak to him when he was back at training."

Levein hopes to have the midfielder available for the friendly in Sweden next month and the upcoming European Championship qualifiers which begin in September.

He added: "I wouldn't have tried to persuade him to come back If I didn't want him back but it's like anything else, he has to want to play.

"If he wants to play for Scotland I am more than happy to have him back."

Hearts winger and former England Under-21 international Andrew Driver is another player Levein hopes to soon have at his disposal.

Both were looking to take advantage of a new rule which allows players in the UK to represent their adopted homeland if they have been educated in that country for five years, but were thwarted after it emerged Driver fell two months short.

However, a rule change last month allows a player to be picked if "he has engaged in a minimum of five years education under the age of 18 within the territory of the relevant association" which means Driver is clear to be picked by Levein, who said: "That's just about there.

"The change in nationality should take another two or three weeks to be finalised and then he will be available. He's got a little injury just now and he had a little operation over in Sweden to tidy things up in his knee but he's feeling good."