Rangers defender Connor Goldson is out for the rest of the season after picking up a knee injury in training.
The 31-year-old centre-back was involved in a tangle with a team-mate and required a scan which confirmed a medial ligament problem.
Vice-captain Goldson has sat out Rangers’ last two matches and boss Philippe Clement will be without the services of a key player for the final four cinch Premiership fixtures and the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup final against Celtic later in the month.
The Light Blues are three points behind leaders Celtic and ahead of the visit of Kilmarnock on Sunday, Clement revealed some “bad news”.
The Belgian boss said: “There was a duel on Wednesday at training and a player fell on Connor’s knee and he hurt his knee badly.
“He tried to continue but couldn’t. He had a scan and he has a tear in his medial ligament so he will be out for the rest of the season.”
Clement revealed that Goldson still wants to play a part in the run-in.
He said: “It is, of course, a blow. He has played 48 games this season.
“He has played a lot of good games, he is one of the leaders in the team and he does that role really well. And that was also one of the first things he said to me, that he wanted to be in the dressing room for the next couple of games although he cannot play, to be there for the boys and support them.
“So that is also a positive thing from his side, the commitment he has to this group and this club.
“He can help people in their motivation and calmness or whatever they need and he is part of this group.
“It is a good sign that someone wants to be there for the team but, of course, it is unlucky to lose him now.
“It has been the story of this season. Players get injuries but it is up to others to step up.
“He will be back for pre-season and he is happy about that because last year he missed almost all pre-season training, so it was quite a miracle that he played so many games and he was fit for so long. This injury was real bad luck.”
Left-back Ridvan Yilmaz and midfielder Ryan Jack returned to training this week but only the former has any chance of making it against Killie.
Clement said: “We need to see tomorrow. Ridvan maybe, Ryan not yet. He is too far away from that. He will need more time than Ridvan.”