Dalglish not blaming Pearce for Gerrard injury

Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish has refused to blame England caretaker manager Stuart Pearce for Steven Gerrard’s latest injury setback.

The Liverpool captain started for England in their 3-2 friendly loss to the Netherlands on Wednesday despite playing 120 minutes in the Carling Cup win over Cardiff City just three days earlier.

Gerrard, 31, was substituted in the 33rd minute after complaining of hamstring soreness.

Dalglish, who is unsure whether Gerrard will be fit for Saturday’s English Premier League clash against Arsenal, refused to criticise Pearce for starting the midfielder.

“Until we know exactly what has happened, it is difficult for us to presume anything,” the Scot said on Thursday.

“I have fantastic respect for Pearcey – he played for us (under Dalglish at Newcastle United).”

“He is a really straight, honest guy, so I don’t think he would do anything harmful to the football club.”

The full extent of Gerrard’s injury will be known later on Thursday when the Liverpool captain returns to the club.

Meanwhile, Dalglish confirmed Danish defender Daniel Agger will be sidelined for ‘a few weeks’ after fracturing a rib in the win over Cardiff.

Liverpool, who are seventh, can close the gap on fourth-placed Arsenal with a win at Anfield, but Dalglish said he was not looking too far ahead.

“It’s an important game for us and it’s an important game for Arsenal,” he said.

“They had a fantastic comeback (win) last week at home to Tottenham, getting five goals in about 20 minutes or something.”

“It’s going to be difficult for us but we’ll make it difficult for them, so we’ll just keep going as I’ve said before.”

“We’ll add the points up and see where we get to. I’ve not looked at the points. I know we’ve got Arsenal on Saturday and that’s all we have to do.”

Liverpool have a game in hand on Arsene Wenger’s team, and a win for Dalglish’s men on Saturday would close the gap to four points.