By Lewis Birrell

BRUNO ALVES could miss Rangers’ trip to Dundee on Friday night due to a back problem.

 The Portuguese defender was absent on Saturday as his side crashed to a 2-0 home defeat at the hands of Hamilton Accies.

Rumors were rife that the 35-year-old had allegedly refused to accept a spot on the Ibrox club’s bench.

Caretaker manager, Graeme Murty insists the staff will continue to assess Alves’ fitness before a decision is made for the Dundee game.

“Bruno Alves wasn’t fit for Saturday with a sore back and he has stepped up his rehab, but it is very much a day-by-day process for him and we will see how he reports in tomorrow.” Murty told RangersTV.

The Gers already have a packed treatment table with Lee Wallace, Graham Dorrans and Jordan Rossiter also recovering from spells on the sidelines.

“Lee Wallace is doing some really good numbers. We just have to make sure his specifics for his groin are all hit, and we make sure he is fully fit and firing when he comes back.

“It is encouraging seeing him open up and seeing him hit the speeds which he is hitting at the moment.

“It’ll then be a question of getting his match fitness and his sharpness up and getting some more volume into him so he can go and train with the players flat out.”

Jordan Rossiter hasn’t appeared for the Glasgow giants since they catastrophically crashed out of the Europa League to Luxembourgish outfit Progres Niederkorn.

The Englishman has suffered with a recurring knee injury for most of his career and Murty wants to ensure he’s recovered fully before returning to action.

Murty added: “Jordan Rossiter is progressing on. I get loads of tweets all the timeabout how he is doing and we are just having to make sure we keep Jordan informed. Make sure he is ready to go when his body is ready and make sure we don’t get too frustrated as he could get really frustrated.

“He wants to be on the pitch and he wants to be playing all the time. We just have to make sure we get him ready and he is ready to go when his body is good and done.”

Bruno Alves signed for Rangers in May on a two year contract for an undisclosed transfer fee.

The veteran defender may struggle to regain his place in the side following some sterling form by 19-year-old Ross McCrorie.