Rangers star Joe Aribo faces a race against time to be fit to face Celtic in October.
Steven Gerrard will be without his key midfielder for up to six weeks after he suffered a setback with his ankle injury.
The Nigerian has missed the last two games against Kilmarnock and Hamilton with the knock and Gerrard has now confirmed it's worse initially reported.
But the Rangers boss insists the news is better than it could have been and there were worries over the international break he would need to go under the knife.
It's a huge blow for the Ibrox men with Aribo starting the season in fine form and he'll now miss some big games.
That starts with Saturday's game against Dundee United, includes games against Motherwell and Hibs, and could also see him miss the game against Celtic on October 17.
Gerrard said: "Joe Aribo has had a setback with an ankle strain and will be missing for four to six weeks.
"It’s a big blow with Joe. He is a player we rate rightly, it is actually good news as it was a situation that it could have required surgery and but he doesn’t and we hope he can be back in four weeks.
"It will be a blow however as he is a major talent.
"Allan McGregor will have a scan on his knee over the weekend and Jordan Jones has returned with a small quad issue.
"Cedric Itten, Borna Barisic and Jermain Defoe are all back in full training."
