Liverpool has struggled to find team chemistry all season. Now they will have to continue the search without their captain.
Steven Gerrard injured his hamstring in England’s loss to France on Wednesday. The prolific midfielder left the friendly match in the 84th minute.
"Steven injured his hamstring," said Reds medical chief Dr. Peter Brukner. "He's been for an early assessment and it certainly looks like a significant hamstring injury. I'd imagine it could be three to four weeks."
A Thursday scan confirmed Dr. Brukner's initial assessment. Gerrard suffered a grade 2 tear and will be forced to miss the next three to four weeks. He will miss upcoming matches against West Ham, Tottenham, Steaua Bucharest, Aston Villa, Newcastle and FC Utrecht.
Reds officials are still fuming over Gerrard's even being on the field. They claim there was an agreement with England manager Fabio Capello that Gerrard would only play for a half-hour against France, at most.
Liverpool is already without midfielder Lucas Leiva for this Saturday’s visit to West Ham, as he received a red card in Saturday’s loss to Stoke. Joe Cole, Dirk Kuyt and Fernando Torres are all currently listed as doubtful for the upcoming match.
There is also concern surrounding fullback Martin Skrtel. He is still battling knee and ankle problems he suffered in the loss on Saturday evening. Skrtel had to take painkillers to complete the match. He opted not to play in Slovakia’s friendly against Bosnia-Herzegovina.
When healthy, Gerrard has been one of the few bright spots for the struggling club. He has scored seven goals in 15 appearances for Liverpool this season, in addition to his two goals in five appearances for England.
