RANGERS striker Kenny Miller faces a “significant” stint out of action with a ruptured hamstring, adding to the club’s already considerable injury woes.

The 37-year-old frontman tore his hamstring during last week’s win over Hibernian at Easter Road.

Caretaker boss Graeme Murty expressed optimism in the days after his side’s Leith triumph that Miller could feature against Celtic in the Old Firm match at Parkhead on December 30, but those hopes have now been snuffed out with confirmation the player requires a lengthy recovery period.

“Kenny’s is going to be more significant than we thought,” Murty said yesterday. “Unfortunately, it looks as though he has a rupture of his hamstring, so he is going to have a significant amount of time out.

“We were hopeful given the way he presented and given the fact his range was OK, but once we’ve scanned it, we have seen there is significant damage in there, so we have to be more conservative in our approach with him.

“That’s a painful one for him and a sore one for the group as he is an integral part of everything that we do around the place. If anyone knows Kenny, they know the standards that he drives, so we are going to miss him.”

It is more bad news for the Ibrox side, having learned last week that midfielder Graham Dorrans faces three months out after ankle surgery.

The Light Blues are also without midfielder Jordan Rossiter and back-up goalkeeper Jak Alnwick through knee and ankle injuries respectively, but Lee Wallace is making progress from the groin problem that has sidelined the skipper since September.