Gerrard will be out for two months
LIVERPOOL, England -- Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard will be sidelined for two months with a broken left foot and will miss England's next two World Cup qualifiers.
Gerrard limped off the pitch in the first half of Liverpool's 2-1 loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford on Monday night.
Liverpool's revealed that X-rays on Tuesday had confirmed that Gerrard had broken the metatarsal in the fifth bone of his left foot.
"There was no one by me when Xabi Alonso gave me the ball and as I turned I felt a crack in my ankle," Gerrard said after the game.
He will miss England's 2006 World Cup qualifiers against Wales at Old Trafford on October 9 and at Azerbaijan four days later.
Gerrard's injury is similar to that suffered by David Beckham before the 2002 World Cup and by Wayne Rooney during Euro 2004.
Liverpool coach Rafael Benitez said: "It is very disappointing, it happened when he jarred his foot and there was no opponent near him."
"It is a blow to us because of the big games in Europe that we have coming up, but we have a good squad and we will have to cope without him."
Liverpool play at Olympiakos in the Champions League next Tuesday.
Although Gerrard's injury is a major blow for England coach Sven-Gorak Eriksson, he has received more encouraging news about Rooney.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes the young striker could be fit for the game against Wales.
"It's going to be about two more weeks for Wayne," said Ferguson.
"He will go back to see the specialist on Thursday but I think we are looking at the Middlesbrough game on October 3 for his comeback."
Eriksson, speaking to reporters when he attended a UEFA coaches' conference in Stockholm, said that United defender Rio Ferdinand could return to the England squad.
He said he was told Ferdinand had marked the end of his eight-month ban for missing a doping test with a good performance against Liverpool.
"I heard Ferdinand played well. He will be picked if he is fit, of course he will."
