Rangers have confirmed winger Jamie Murphy will miss the remainder of the season with a serious knee ligament injury.
Murphy was stretchered off during the 3-1 Betfred Cup win over Kilmarnock on Sunday and initial fears were that the former Brighton forward had suffered a serious injury on Rugby Park's plastic pitch.
Gers boss Steven Gerrard said earlier in the week that doctors would have to wait for the swelling in Murphy's knee to go down before being able to provide an update on his likely recovery time.
Scans have now revealed Murphy damaged his anterior cruciate ligament and will not be back in Gerrard's plans until next season.
Speaking at Rangers' press conference before Thursday's Europa League clash with Russian side FC Ufa, Gerrard said: "It's sad news for Jamie. I'm bitterly disappointed over it.
"He will be missing for the remainder of the season. He's got an ACL injury and we got the news we all didn't want.
"He's coming to terms with it now but at the beginning he was upset, as you can understand. He's a player who loves playing the game and he's been excellent for me since day one.
"We are trying to look for the positives out of it now and it's important Jamie does everything he can in terms of his rehab and comes back in the best physical condition he can come back in.
"We'll give him every bit of support he needs and we will stick with him. He's a very important player for us for many, many years."