Gerrard to miss Man Utd game

Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard has revealed he is unlikely to be available for the Premiership clash with Manchester United, but is confident of a return for the Champions League game with Marseille.

"The United game is too soon,' Gerrard told the Liverpool Daily Post.

'I've a decent chance for the Champions League game in Marseille but I've spoken to the manager and told him I'd like to do a certain amount of training before I come back.

'I don't want to go into a big game only having had one session with the boys.'

'I strained both sides, which is a separate injury from the main groin problem I've got. The strains came about because I was training and playing differently to reduce the pain further up the pelvic bone.

'The decision about surgery was taken after our game against Standard Liege. I had a meeting with the club doctor on the day of the game and said the discomfort was getting to the stage where I couldn't continue.

'I'd had to double, then treble, my dose of painkillers to train and play, and I was having to take them during games. You get to the stage where you can't grind it out any longer. I told the doctor, 'I can't find my level, I can't get to 100 percent because I'm missing training sessions and I don't feel right in games. I don't feel I can go to the max'.

'I couldn't sprint flat out, couldn't pass more than 30 yards and couldn't shoot properly and, as much as you want to be out there for every game, it is important to be right.'