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04-18-2009, 05:03 PM
Liverpool have confirmed skipper Steven Gerrard will miss the Premier League clash with Arsenal on Tuesday after failing to recover from a groin injury.
Gerrard, who was sidelined for the midweek Champions League showdown at Chelsea, also looks set to sit out the Reds' trip to Hull on 25 April.
Boss Rafael Benitez believed the injury was not as serious as first feared.
But a club spokesman said: "The player is expected to be out for between seven and 10 days."
Gerrard played no part in the 4-0 League win over Blackburn last weekend after Benitez had said the club needed to manage him carefully over the final weeks of the season.
But what was originally viewed as a relatively minor thigh injury sustained at Anfield in the first-leg defeat to Chelsea has now developed into a more serious complication.
The England midfielder did not even make the bench for the quarter-final second-leg clash at Stamford Bridge, which saw the Blues progress with a 7-5 aggregate win.
And the Liverpool spokesman revealed: "Steven unfortunately aggravated a small strain he had previously suffered in his adductor muscle.
"A scan has since confirmed our medical team's initial diagnosis but in the meantime he will continue to receive intensive treatment on the injury at Melwood."
Next Tuesday's showdown at home to Arsenal looks the toughest of Liverpool's remaining six matches as they hunt their first League title since 1990.
Benitez said Gerrard picked up a niggle in the final training session at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday and said it was "an easy decision" not to play the 28-year-old in that match.
"To lose a key player is always important and especially a player like Gerrard but credit to the other players because they did a fantastic job," he added.
BBC SPORT
Gerrard, who was sidelined for the midweek Champions League showdown at Chelsea, also looks set to sit out the Reds' trip to Hull on 25 April.
Boss Rafael Benitez believed the injury was not as serious as first feared.
But a club spokesman said: "The player is expected to be out for between seven and 10 days."
Gerrard played no part in the 4-0 League win over Blackburn last weekend after Benitez had said the club needed to manage him carefully over the final weeks of the season.
But what was originally viewed as a relatively minor thigh injury sustained at Anfield in the first-leg defeat to Chelsea has now developed into a more serious complication.
The England midfielder did not even make the bench for the quarter-final second-leg clash at Stamford Bridge, which saw the Blues progress with a 7-5 aggregate win.
And the Liverpool spokesman revealed: "Steven unfortunately aggravated a small strain he had previously suffered in his adductor muscle.
"A scan has since confirmed our medical team's initial diagnosis but in the meantime he will continue to receive intensive treatment on the injury at Melwood."
Next Tuesday's showdown at home to Arsenal looks the toughest of Liverpool's remaining six matches as they hunt their first League title since 1990.
Benitez said Gerrard picked up a niggle in the final training session at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday and said it was "an easy decision" not to play the 28-year-old in that match.
"To lose a key player is always important and especially a player like Gerrard but credit to the other players because they did a fantastic job," he added.
BBC SPORT