LIVERPOOL EXPECT to discover the full extent of Lucas Leiva’s injury today amid concerns the Brazilian could be out for more than two months with a torn thigh muscle.
The midfielder was withdrawn five minutes into Sunday’s Premier League draw against Manchester City with a thigh problem he initially felt during the warm-up. Liverpool are still awaiting the results of tests on Lucas, with more expected today but fear the 25-year-old has suffered a muscle tear that will sideline him for between six and 10 weeks.
If confirmed, the injury would represent a major setback for manager Brendan Rodgers and the Brazil international, who has only recently returned to fitness ahead of schedule from a cruciate knee ligament injury sustained in December. The Liverpool manager views Lucas as a key component of a three-man central midfield but will have Nuri Sahin, the new season-long loan signing from Real Madrid, available to face Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday.
Rodgers believes the reduced numbers at Anfield this season can enhance the development of Raheem Sterling and other young Liverpool talents.
The 17-year-old impressed on his full league debut against City as Rodgers selected a young Liverpool team for his first Premier League game in charge at Anfield. He said: “Young players will run through a barbed wire fence for you. Older players will look for the hole in the fence or just turn back and not even go through it. But you get that freshness from Raheem. I like exciting players as well and he is a boy that excites you.
“Maybe this might be a good opportunity for them. Because we don’t have the money that some of our rivals have, I want to make the philosophy through the club that allows us to bring players from the Academy into the first team. We want to develop what this club has had for many years and develop top young players.”
Rodgers had considered sending Sterling out on loan to aid his development this season but shelved those plans after working with the winger in training.
Meanwhile, Wayne Rooney is facing up to two months on the sidelines at Manchester United after undergoing surgery to repair a six-inch wound which cut as deep as his thigh bone. Rooney, whose right thigh was cut open by the studs of Fulham’s Hugo Rodallega in a freak collision during Saturday’s game at Old Trafford, was forced to go under general anaesthetic prior to surgery, which included the stitching of the wound, due to the severity of the injury.
The player then spent the night under observation in hospital before being discharged on Sunday to recover at home.
But the initial fears of United manager Alex Ferguson that the 26-year-old would be out for a month as a result of the gash now appear hugely optimistic with medical staff shocked by the extent of the cut. Ferguson insisted, following the Fulham game, that Rodallega could not be blamed for the injury, but the damage caused by the player’s studs has caused surprise and concern.
Rooney, who will miss England’s World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Ukraine next month and the start of United’s Champions League campaign, now faces an anxious wait over his likely recovery period.
With the cut to his thigh being so extensive there is the possibility of muscle damage beneath the skin, but it is understood to be too early at this stage to assess the full scale of the injury. However, with the wound likely to require a lengthy period of recovery for the skin to heal, there is a genuine prospect of Rooney being out for two months.
Guardian Service
