Kenny Miller won't lead the way on the park but he will still be a key influence off it, says Rangers legend Mark Hateley

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The striker lasted just 15 minutes at Easter Road before he had to be helped off the pitch and the extent of his injury is another huge blow for the Light Blues.

Miller has been an integral part of Murty’s plans since he was recalled to the Ibrox squad for the 3-1 victory at Murrayfield following the sacking of Pedro Caixinha.

And nine-in-a-row hero Hateley hopes he can continue to make his presence felt from the other side of the white line in the coming weeks and months.

“It is a real blow for the team, especially coming over this period where there are lots of games,” he said.

“The Christmas period is an important part of the season. You need to pick up results and you rely on your experienced players.

“The only up side is that there is the winter break coming up and a couple of weeks without games.

“But you want your top professionals and your most experienced players available, and he is certainly one of those. He will be missed.

“He will still be around the team, he will be there or there abouts. He will be at the training ground getting treatment and around on match days.

“Kenny is at the games anyway, whether he is playing or injured and that will continue. He is a good type to have around.”

Miller will turn 38 on Saturday but he won’t have a chance to celebrate in style as gets set to watch on at Rugby Park while Murty’s side face Kilmarnock.

Rangers have yet to put a definitive timescale on how long the stand-in captain will be unavailable for as he sets off on the road to recovery.

The forward has often expressed his desire to continue playing for as long as possible and Hateley knows the injury setback will be a real blow for Miller.

“When you are that age, when you are an older player, you hate missing anything,” he said.

“You hate missing a training session, you hate missing a game.

“That is why you play so long and that is the determination that older players have.

“They want to be fit, they want to train every day and they want to play every game.

“The frustration is there, like anybody else. If you have an injury, you have to get through it.

“As an experienced player, I think you deal with it better than young players with injuries.

“You try and look after yourself as best you can but you never know what is round the corner. That is the way it is unfortunately.”

The loss of Miller is another significant setback for Rangers and comes just days after Murty confirmed that midfielder Graham Dorrans faces another 12 weeks out of action.

The 30-year-old sustained an ankle injury in the draw with Kilmarnock back in October and will be sorely missed in the coming months.

“They are big players, experienced players and you don’t want to be losing them,” Hateley said. “Experienced players can get you through a lot and they are two big players.

“In the dressing room and on the training ground, that is where your experience comes through. Graham is another one that has got the ability to offer encouragement or advice whenever it is needed.

“Any injury to a player is an opportunity to someone else and that will never change.

“If one door slams shut, another one opens and someone has to walk through it and take their chance.

“That is the name of the game. You get your opportunity and you have to take it.”

With Miller now set to be absent for the foreseeable future, the scoring burden will fall even more heavily on the shoulders of Alfredo Morelos.

The Colombian ended his ten-game goal drought when he netted in the win over Ross County earlier this month and has followed that up with strikes against Hibernian and St Johnstone.

Morelos will be backed up by Eduardo Herrera and Ryan Hardie and Hateley hopes he has emerged stronger from his frustrating spell in front of goal.

“He is a young player that started the season well,” he said.

“He got into a bit of a rut but you learn from that as a young player.

“He is early 20s, he is still learning, but playing for a big club and these are the kind of things that you need to deal with.

“A couple of goals will do him well. That is the case for all teams at all levels.

“Look at (Romelu) Lukaku down at Manchester United, he went on a barren run then all of a sudden he scores a goal and then gets another goal.

“It is about what you learn from your barren spell, it is not what you learn when you are scoring goals.”