Liverpool Hopeful About Gerrard

Kenny Dalglish

Liverpool will have to cope without captain Steven Gerrard at Braga on Thursday as the Liverpool captain has had some tests this week with a decision on the best course of treatment expected on Friday. The club's manager, Kenny Dalglish, has refused to rule out surgery for the player and should Gerrard have an operation he would be likely to miss the Wales game, on 26th March, and England's friendly against Ghana three days later.

Liverpool will also be without full-back Fábio Aurélio for the next four weeks – including both legs of the round of 16 tie against SC Braga – after the Brazilian tore a hamstring at the weekend.

Martin Škrtel believes Liverpool FC are hitting form at just the right time for their UEFA Europa League ambitions as they welcome AC Sparta Praha following a goalless first leg.

Fábio Aurélio will miss both legs of Liverpool FC's UEFA Europa League round of 16 tie against SC Braga due to a hamstring injury.

The Brazilian defender tore his hamstring in Sunday's 3-1 Premier League defeat of Manchester United FC and is now expected to be sidelined for four weeks according to Liverpool's head of sports medicine and sports science Dr Peter Brukner. "He's got a significant hamstring injury," Brukner told the club's website. "Unfortunately his body lets him down. We've been managing him but this just came out of the blue. It's a partial tear. He'll be out for a month so that's a blow."

Daniel Agger, meanwhile, is also unlikely to be fit for the first leg at Braga on Thursday having not played since the second-leg win against AC Sparta Praha in the round of 32. "Daniel had a nasty kick on a joint to the side of his knee," said Brukner. "They take time and he's a bit of a slow healer. He's still not 100% so we'll have to see if he's fit for the game this week. But it's more likely to be the following week."

Manager, Kenny Dalglish, explained;

"For us and for Steven it is a niggling problem that we've got to find a solution to," he said. "We will know better by the end of the week. By Friday we will know where we stand. Hopefully it is going to be cleared up and he'll be available for most matches. Everybody has got to be carefully managed, whether they are fully fit or slightly fit. We will know better on Friday. We won't speculate about anybody, especially Steven. It is a minimal problem but it is a problem that needs to be fixed. If we've got time to get it fixed we'll get it fixed."

Liverpool will equal a club record of 14 games unbeaten in Europe if they do not lose at the Estádio Municipal on Thursday.

Luis Suárez is ineligible and Andy Carroll is expected to be given more time than his 16-minute appearance against Manchester United but will not to start.