Liverpool to start pushing Gerrard hard ahead of Man Utd clash
Published:Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard’s rehabilitation from a long-term groin injury is going well – and now it’s time to step things up, says Reds assistant coach Steve Clarke.
Gerrard was left out of the England squad to face Montenegro this week at the insistence of the player and Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish who feel he is not quite ready for that intensity of football.
However, Gerrard is set to pushed harder in training over the coming days as he bids to be fit enough to make a big impact against Manchester United a week Saturday.
Speaking to the official Liverpool website, Clarke said: “For Steven it’s just a progression. He’s coming back from a long-term injury and we’ll try to treat him as cautiously and carefully as we can.
“We’ve only got a very small group of players left behind because we’ve got a lot of players away on international duty.
“On Thursday we’ll bring up the reserve-team squad to join in, which will give us more numbers
“It’s been well documented that we’re looking after him. He’s going to have to push himself in the coming weeks – and the more minutes we get into him, the better.”
“He’s handled the steps we’ve given him so far very well and we’ll just look to push him on.”
It may still be over a week away, but anticipation is already building ahead of United’s trip to Anfield.
Liverpool head into the game as outsiders at 9/5 but, with Gerrard potentially making some sort of impact and Liverpool winning their last three home games against United, a win for the Reds could be well worth backing.
