International Football: Liverpool fume about Gerrard’s hamstring problem
Steven Gerrard, Liverpool’s captain and England’s influential midfielder suffered a hamstring injury in the dying minutes of England’s 2-1 defeat to France at the Wembley stadium. The injury has left Liverpool F.C fuming as their head
of fitness; Darren Burgess made his thoughts known through a twitter update. Burgess wrote, "Unbelievable from all associated with England and English FA with regard to Steven Gerrard's injury. Completely ignored agreement and past history."
Gerrard is set to have a scan on his hamstring today to determine the extent of the injury and the amount of time (if any), he will have to spend on the sidelines recovering from the injury. Liverpool’s captain might be sidelined for a
few weeks but Capello explained England’s situation with regard to Steven Gerrard as he spoke to the press after the match.
Fabio said, "We spoke with Steve and he said he would play one hour, but after Barry's injury we had some problems. That was the reason he stayed on the pitch. If it's possible, the players will play the time we agreed with the club. But
Barry was really injured so we needed someone senior on the pitch because it was a really young team. He said he was good. We're upset about what happened to Steve, of course."
Adding to his comments and elaborating on what Liverpool had requested of the English national team, he said, "They asked that he can play one hour if it's possible. They can't decide how long a player plays with the national team. If
it's possible, he'd have played an hour. I understand why they're upset and I'm also upset. The problem is that, when you play this game on Wednesday after a lot of Premier League, Europa League or Champions League games, it's possible there might be an injury
for a player. The Premier League, every time, is a tough league for the players."
Capello went onto comment on Andy Carroll’s debut for England. Despite the fact that England lost the match eventually, Capello was complimentary of the physical striker. He said, "He played very well. He'll be a player who'll be important
for the future of England. When he received the ball he played quickly and his movement every time was dangerous."
Andy, himself was an injury doubt before the game but Fabio Capello cleared up the ambiguities surrounding Carroll’s fitness issues as he said, "Franco (Baldini, England general manager) spoke with Newcastle before the game and we checked
him before the game. I spoke with him (Carroll) at the hotel, personally, and after the warm-up here. After the first half, too. He told me he was fit to play every time. No player has ever played with me who was not fit. Our doctor said he was fit, so the
player was ready to play. He played 70 minutes very well, no problem."
England will now play their next international match in March next year against Ghana, both the footballing associations from England and Ghana are in negotiations at the moment to determine the suitability of a friendly match between
the two sides before England resume their EURO 2012 qualification campaign.
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