Liverpool boss angered over Steven Gerrard injury
Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson says he is angry over the injury his captain Steven Gerrard picked up while on international duty.
The 30-year-old is facing up to four weeks out of action after sustaining a hamstring tear in England's 2-1 friendly loss to France at Wembley on Wednesday 17 November.
Though the English Premier League club had asked national team coach Fabio Capello for the midfielder to play for no more than an hour, Gerrard played 84 minutes of the game before suffering the injury.
Gerrard is likely to miss several important games for Liverpool, including EPL clashes with West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Newcastle United, as well as crunch UEFA Europa League group stage matches against Steaua Bucharest and FC Utrecht.
Hodgson told reporters that: "As Liverpool manager I am frustrated and disappointed to lose such an important player for such a long period of time. Anything I say, other than I am disappointed and even a little bit angry about it, would be dishonest.
"But I know Steven, as an important player for club and country, is keen to put a tin lid on the matter. He is disappointed and sad too but he is going to do everything he can to get back to fitness as quickly as possible."
Meanwhile, the English Football Association have confirmed that Liverpool will be compensated for the player's wages while he is out injured.
An insurance policy taken out by the FA will cover Gerrard's wages while he is out, a sum that could reach around half a million pounds.
A statement issued by the FA read that: “The FA has in place comprehensive insurance to cover injuries sustained to players on international duty. The FA is one of a small number of countries that has a voluntary insurance scheme to cover players wages should
they suffer injury on international duty. Liverpool do not need to pursue us for compensation as our insurers will cover the wages for Liverpool as this was clearly a legitimate injury."
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