Boyd (right) had to be replaced before the interval at Hamilton
Rangers say striker Kris Boyd has undergone a successful hernia operation on Tuesday and they hope he will be back in action within a month.
The 26-year-old travelled to Manchester with club doctor Paul Jackson on Monday for a consultation with one of Britain's top groin specialists.
And, after a decision was taken to operate, Rangers are predicting he will be missing for four weeks.
They say he had been carrying the injury for about a month.
Boyd was substituted during Sunday's 3-3 draw with Hamilton Accies in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup, after which it was decided that he needed the problem sorted out.
Rangers say that the normal recovery period for such surgery is six weeks but that Boyd is a notoriously quick healer.
While I would hope we will have Nacho back at the weekend, we should also have Steve in the team too
Rangers manager Walter Smith
Boyd currently tops the SPL scoring charts with 19 goals and recently became the league's all-time record scorer.
But he will miss this weekend's Scottish Premier League meeting with Hamilton, next week's Scottish Cup replay with the same opponents and this month's matches against Hearts, St Mirren and Falkirk.
Boyd is also set to be absent for the Co-operative Insurance Cup semi-final against St Johnstone and the cup meeting with St Mirren should Rangers defeat Accies.
The striker is in the middle of talks about extending his contract beyond the summer and it appears that Rangers are more hopeful that Boyd will agree new terms.
Meanwhile, forward Nacho Novo should return to action this weekend at New Douglas Park.
Rangers say that the Spaniard, who suffered a thigh injury in the Old Firm derby against Celtic on 3 January, is making good progress.
Midfielder Steven Davis, who was taken off along with Boyd against Accies at New Douglas Park with a dead leg, has also returned to training.
Manager Walter Smith told his club website: "The thigh knock Steven took at the weekend was quite similar to Nacho's at the start of the month when we played Celtic.
"But, while I would hope we will have Nacho back at the weekend, we should also have Steve in the team too."
Novo's return is a boost for Rangers, who will also be without Boyd's strike partner, Kenny Miller, through suspension against Hamilton.
Fellow forward Steven Naismith remains sidelined, while Lee McCulloch is also banned for the trip to Hamilton.
DaMarcus Beasley and fellow midfielder Pedro Mendes are also missing through injury, while defender Madjid Bougherra is on Africa Cup of Nations duty with Algeria.
Bougherra's campaign started badly in Angola when he and his Algeria colleagues went going down 3-0 to unfancied Malawi on Monday.
An attempted clearance from the Rangers centre-half broke to David Banda as the Red Lions midfielder put his side three ahead after just 49 minutes of the Group A match.
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