Watch Liverpool

Posts Tagged ‘captain’

• Captain has undergone treatment to combat infection
• Midfielder will miss Swansea game and two England friendlies

Liverpool hope rest for Steven Gerrard during the upcoming international break will cure an infection in their captain’s right ankle.

Gerrard, who had only recently returned to fitness after a six-month absence caused by a groin problem, missed the victory at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday and was subsequently pictured with his leg in a cast. The midfielder has now been ruled out of England’s friendly matches against Spain and Sweden.

A Liverpool statement said: “Steven Gerrard has now undergone treatment to clear out all infection from his right ankle, which has been placed in a protective plaster cast.

“The player will not be available for this weekend’s game against Swansea City or for the upcoming England friendlies against Spain and Sweden. Steven will now continue his rehabilitation programme under the guidance of the club’s medical staff.”

Liverpool have not specified when they hope the 31-year-old can play again. The club’s clear wish is that no infection returns to the area which was initially caused by an apparently innocuous cut during training.

Dr Kal Parmar, a sports medicine specialist with the Pure Sports Clinic, believes Gerrard’s recovery should be relatively straightforward.

“I have read about the case and it is unusual for something like this simply to happen from a cut,” Dr Parmar said. “I think Steven has been unlucky for the injury to come about in this way.

“It sounds as though the cut has become infected and that has got into the ankle joint. From there, the joint would be washed out in a minor surgical procedure. There should be no complications from there, it is easily treated.

“The cast is put in place to prevent any infection from spreading. He should be fine; you have to keep on top of the cut, keep it clean and he will probably still be on some kind of antibiotics. But he should be back within the next week or two, I would have thought.”

Steven GerrardLiverpoolEwan Murrayguardian.co.uk

• Gerrard says Hodgson’s appointment was ‘worth the wait’
• Captain has been linked with a move away from Liverpool

Steven Gerrard has praised Liverpool’s appointment of Roy Hodgson as their new manager, saying the club had appointed the “right man”.

“The club have made a good appointment in Roy Hodgson,” the captain told the Liverpool website. “[The former manager] Rafa [Benítez] left a few weeks ago and I know the club were determined to take their time and get the right man for the job.

“Roy is hugely experienced and I believe he is the right man for Liverpool. I think it’s been worth the wait and I’m sure he’s just keen now to get on with it and start to quickly put in place his plans for the new season.”

Gerrard’s future will be one of Hodgson’s most pressing concerns over the next few days, with the captain – along with other key players such as the midfielder Javier Mascherano and the striker Fernando Torres – having been linked with a move away from the club.

Roy HodgsonSteven GerrardLiverpoolPaolo Bandiniguardian.co.uk

• Surgery not viable for Liverpool striker’s hernia
• Spaniard could return against Fiorentina

Rafael Benítez has given an ominous assessment of Fernando Torres’s fitness to Liverpool and Spain by revealing that the striker’s hernia may persist all season and cast doubt on his involvement in next summer’s World Cup.

Torres, ordered to rest for three weeks rather than undergo surgery by a specialist in Valencia last month, will be absent for a fifth week when Liverpool travel to Blackburn Rovers today. The 25-year-old had raised hopes of a return at Ewood Park when he took part in a full training session for the first time in four weeks on Wednesday. Benítez, however, has admitted that Torres remains at risk due to a problem that could have lasting repercussions for club and country. The Spain international continues to feel discomfort in the groin, although is expected to feature against Fiorentina in the Champions League dead-rubber next week, and his manager is resigned to nursing Torres through the entire campaign and to next summer’s World Cup on a restricted training regime.

The Liverpool manager explained:

“He was training from the beginning of the season but only part of the training sessions. We played 30 minutes’ football the other day and he was involved but you do not want to take any risks. He is still not fully fit but he is very close, so hopefully will be with us against Fiorentina [on Wednesday]. He has more confidence now. He is still feeling it a little bit but he can do a lot more now that he couldn’t before. We will have to keep an eye on him during the season but he can carry on. It will depend on each game but he has confidence and he is very positive and can carry on through the season.”

Despite his confidence in Torres’s availability, Benítez yesterday warned Spain’s medical team in person that his striker will be assessed at the end of the domestic season and reiterated that surgery is not a viable alternative. “When you have this kind of problem it is very difficult,” he said. “We were talking about how to manage it at a conference with four specialists the other day, and everyone had their own opinion, so it is not easy. In this case I think we have done the right things and you have to keep working during the season.

“Maybe he will be stronger in the second part of the season because he hasn’t played too many games in the first half. After that, we have to analyse what his condition is. We will discuss it. Today I was talking with the fitness coach of Spain so we are in contact, our fitness coaches, so we can manage, but we have to see how he progresses during the season. I think he will have this all season. We have a good medical staff, working with players on the prevention of injuries, and we have a lot of players doing specific things to prevent injuries. You cannot control everything, but Fernando will be one of these players.”

Despite Steven Gerrard’s assertion that Liverpool are out of title contention Benítez is convinced his captain can complete his medal collection at Liverpool.

“We have confidence that if we can stay at the top of the table then we can be contenders in the next three or four years,” he said. “We can win the title and hopefully he will be the captain when it happens.”

Gerrard will make his 500th appearance in a Liverpool shirt today against the club that witnessed his debut as a substitute for Vegard Heggem in November 1998.

Fernando TorresRafael BenítezLiverpoolPremier LeagueSpainAndy Hunterguardian.co.uk