Rangers moved to within a point of Clydesdale Bank Premier League leaders Celtic with a comfortable win over Kilmarnock - but were left counting the cost as their injury worries intensified.
It was a bittersweet afternoon for Jean-Claude Darcheville after he sent Rangers on their way to victory with an early goal before limping out of the game before half-time.
Darcheville has suffered his fair share of injury problems since his summer arrival at Ibrox and the sight of him hobbling out of the action would have been a concern for boss Walter Smith, who is already without Nacho Novo and DaMarcus Beasley.
However, the three points were then secured by Steven Whittaker's strike, allowing Rangers to close the gap on their Old Firm rivals, who had been held to a draw at Hearts earlier in the day.
Former Kilmarnock strikers Kris Boyd and Steven Naismith were both drafted into the Rangers starting line-up in place of Brahim Hemdani and the injured Beasley, while Whittaker was deployed in the left-back role for the absent Sasa Papac.
But it was Darcheville who caused most of the problems early on and he pounced on a teasing ball into the box in the opening minutes only for Grant Murray to clear the danger before the French striker could unleash the shot.
Lee McCulloch - fit despite limping out of the midweek Champions League defeat in Stuttgart - then came close with a diving header from Barry Ferguson's corner which fizzed inches wide of the upright.
Rangers only had to wait four minutes for the breakthrough and there was no real surprise to see Darcheville bag the opener. A long ball from goalkeeper Allan McGregor was nodded down by Boyd and Darcheville kept his cool to slot past Alan Combe from 10 yards.
Despite such a promising start, the Ibrox side failed to grab the match by the scruff of the neck and Killie gradually began to grow in confidence before Naismith squandered a great chance to find the back of the net.
He had made the difference the last time both clubs met at Ibrox - netting the only goal of the game for Kilmarnock - but this time his finishing was not quite as impressive and he met Boyd's acrobatic kick only to drive across the face of goal and narrowly wide of the target.
Then came a massive blow for Rangers when Darcheville was forced out of the action with 33 minutes gone, seemingly struggling with a heel injury, and replaced by Charlie Adam.
Kilmarnock were also forced to make a change before the break, when Rhian Dodds was replaced by Colin Nish, but the Ayrshire side breathed a sigh of relief when Boyd took an air shot in front of goal as they kept the scoreline down heading into the interval.
Rangers were seeking a similarly explosive start to the second half and Whittaker obliged when he doubled the advantage after 55 minutes with a sensational strike, which left the Killie goalkeeper with no chance.
Naismith embarked on a mazy run before teeing up the shot for Whittaker on the edge of the box and the makeshift left-back gleefully lashed a thunderous effort into the top corner of Combe's net.
Rangers should have put the game beyond their visitors when McCulloch swept a long ball from Carlos Cuellar into the path of Naismith but, again, the youngster passed up the chance by firing low and wide.
Boyd then had the ball in the back of the net but the assistant referee had already raised his flag for offside.
Rangers continued to crank up the pressure and Ibrox erupted in fury when Naismith went to ground in the box under pressure from Murray and referee Alan Freeland ignored the pleas for a penalty.
The same Kilmarnock player was then involved in an incident with Adam but, again, the official was unimpressed and declined to point to the spot.
Kilmarnock had the net bulging late on but a clear foul on McGregor meant the goal was not allowed to stand and Rangers held on for the win.
