Liverpool have been dealt a huge blow with the news that captain Steven Gerrard could be out for up to four weeks with a hamstring injury sustained on England duty.
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Steven Gerrard trudges off with England physio Gary Lewin
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Gerrard, 30, pulled up in the latter stages of England's 2-1 defeat to France at Wembley on Wednesday, and was immediately replaced by Peter Crouch.
He now faces up to a month on the sidelines with an injury that Dr Peter Brukner, the head of sports science at Anfield, described as "significant".
"Steven injured his hamstring last night [Wednesday]," Brukner said. "He's just been in for an early assessment here and it certainly looks like a significant hamstring injury. We should have the results of the scan tonight [Thursday].
"He's going to be out for a little while, I'm afraid. I'd imagine it could be three to four weeks. If you put your hand up to play for your country, you've got to accept how long they want you to play for.
"There were obviously circumstances last night which came together to result in Steven playing for a bit longer than we'd hoped, which is disappointing, but there's nothing we can do about that now.
"We'll move on and work as hard as we can to get him back playing for Liverpool as soon as possible."
Gerrard will undergo a scan later on Thursday to reveal the full extent of the injury, but Liverpool's medical staff are expecting their assessment of a three- to four-week lay-off to be confirmed.
If he is out for four weeks, Gerrard would miss the Premier League games against West Ham, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Newcastle, while he may also be absent for Europa League clashes with Steaua Bucuresti and FC Utrecht.
Liverpool's endured an appalling start to the season, which saw them drop into the relegation zone after eight games and exit the Carling Cup at the hands of minnows Northampton Town.
Successive wins against Blackburn, Bolton and Chelsea appeared to have arrested that slide, but Roy Hodgson's side have drawn at Wigan and lost at Stoke in their past two games.
Gerrard and fellow star turn Fernando Torres have struggled for form this season, but both have still proved the Reds' key attacking outlets and without Gerrard, there will likely be added responsibility on the shoulders of underperforming playmaker Joe Cole.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=843930&sec=england&cc=4716[ 本文被Gabriel在19-11-2010 14:45重新編輯 ]
