Gerrard out for three weeks with torn hamstring

New Delhi: Scans have revealed that the Liverpool skipper's hamstring is torn, and he is set for a spell on the sidelines that might see him absent from Liverpool's Champions League tie in Madrid.

The consequences of Wednesday night's extra-time 1-0 defeat to city rivals Everton in the fourth round of the FA Cup has left more than wounded pride amongst Rafa Benitez's Liverpool team.

Reports on Sky Sports News in the last few minutes have revealed that skipper Steven Gerrard, who limped out of the action, will be out for "21 days" after scans revealed that his hamstring injury was a tear.

Gerrard will miss a host of key games during the period, and the wisdom of Benitez's decision to sell Robbie Keane to Tottenham Hotspur on deadline day now looks a little questionable.

Benitez, looking very disappointed as he spoke to post-match reporters in the wake of the replay defeat at Goodison Park last night, intimated, with a certain amout of bitterness in his tone, that Gerrard was over-tired due to being played too often, with Benitez saying that those who pressurise him into playing the England man every game had now seen what the result was.

Whether that is yet more of the Spaniard's 'mind games', an activity at which he enjoys questionable success, is uncertain. What is more sure is that the talismanic Scouser Gerrard, the heartbeat of this Reds team, will not face Portsmouth at Fratton Park on Saturday, nor will he be fit for England's friendly with Spain in Seville.

He will also be missing for Liverpool's home game with Manchester City, but, as Liverpool were knocked out of the FA Cup last night, his team has a blank weekend. However, that is little comfort, as in 20 days time the Reds travel to the Bernebeu to take on Real Madrid in the Champions League.

If Liverpool's figure of "21 days" is accurate, then their captain will be struggling to be fit in time for a game that many would class as the biggest of their season so far.

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