Gerrard faces injury setback
Published 22:29 30/10/11 By David Anderson
Steven Gerrard hobbled away from hospital yesterday with an ankle infection that could rule him out for England.
The Liverpool midfielder, his right leg in plaster, was forced to use crutches and still had an intravenous drip connector stuck in his left hand.
Anfield boss Kenny Dalglish claimed it would be 24 hours before it was known how long Gerrard could be sidelined.
But his latest setback, which needed hospital treatment, comes after he battled to regain full match fitness following six months out with a groin injury.
England play Spain on November 12 and Sweden three days later.
Asked if Gerrard would be over the infection in time for the friendlies, Dalglish replied: “I haven’t a clue.”
Gerrard, 31, was troubled by his ankle on Friday and it was bad enough to rule him out of Liverpool’s trip to West Brom.
“Steven has an infection in his ankle,” said Dalglish. “He was in our minds for the game, but it just flared up.
“It’s nothing to do with any injuries before, it’s an infection. I suppose it’s like having an abscess on your mouth.
“We’ll be back in Monday or Tuesday, so we can be more accurate next week than we can be just now.”
Gerrard had surgery on a chronic groin problem in March. His recovery was slowed when he developed a groin infection.
He finally returned at the end of last month and had only made two starts before his ankle trouble.
