Steven Davis has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a serious knee injury.
Rangers confirmed the news on Saturday in what is a massive blow for the veteran midfielder who turns 38 next month.
With Davis expected to be out for several months, there are fears this injury blow could edge the Northern Ireland captain closer to retirement.
Read more: O'Neill not worried about potential retirements ahead of Euro 2024 qualifiers"
Rangers tweeted: "Rangers can this afternoon confirm that midfielder @StevenDavis8 has suffered an injury to his knee and will miss the remainder of this season.
"As always Steven has the best wishes of everyone at Ibrox as he embarks upon his recovery."
The veteran midfielder is set to come out of contract at Ibrox next summer and it remains unclear whether he will be offered a new deal by Rangers.
Doubts will also persist over his future at international level.
Davis - who has won a record 140 caps with Northern Ireland - recently confirmed his intention to continue playing.
But he will now miss a large part of the European qualifiers which kick off in March. Northern Ireland feature in a group including Denmark, Finland, Slovenia, Kazakhstan and San Marino.
There will also be doubts over whether this latest injury blow could signal the end of his career for club and country.
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