MARTIN SKRTEL is facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines after a scan revealed he suffered a cruciate ligament injury in Liverpool’s win over Manchester City.
The Slovakian defender was carried off in agony after falling awkwardly in the latter stages of the Reds 3-2 win yesterday.
Skrtel was also given oxygen on the pitch and Liverpool’s worst fears were today realised when the results of the scan showed that he sustained an injury to his posterior cruciate ligament.
He will see a specialist tomorrow, at which point it will be determined how long he is likely to be out of action.
Club spokesman Ian Cotton said: “Martin underwent a scan this morning which showed damage to the posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
“He will see a specialist tomorrow to assess the extent of the injury and will then have an accurate idea of the time scales involved before he is back playing again.”
Meanwhile, Dirk Kuyt today dedicated his winning goal in yesterday’s clash to his stricken team-mate and admitted the sight of Skrtel being carried off made Liverpool even more determined to secure victory.
“Martin’s injury looked very ugly but hopefully it will not be too serious,” said the Dutchman.
“He is due to have a scan and with a bit of luck it will turn out to be not so bad but we will have to wait and see.
“It was great for us to take all three points after what happened to Martin and I think we all wanted to win it for him.”
It is feared Skrtel has suffered a knee ligament injury but nothing will be confirmed until the results of the scan are known.
Reds boss Rafa Benitez said: “Martin has twisted his knee and we will have to wait for the scan but we think it could be serious.
“That's the bad news for us from yesterday. When a player like Martin is on the ground you know it’s serious so we will keep our fingers crossed that it won’t be too bad.”
After going 2-0 down to City before half-time, Liverpool staged a remarkable second half comeback which saw them win the game thanks to a brace from Fernando Torres and Kuyt’s last gasp strike from close range.
Kuyt was delighted to score his first league goal since last November but he insists he is even more pleased that the Reds managed to take all three points after an opening 45 minutes which he readily admits was Liverpool’s worst of the season so far.
He said: “It was a really important win for us. I think the first half was our worst 45 minutes of the season but we were a completely different side in the second half.
“At half-time the manager told us that we had to go back out there and play our own game and that we would be back in the game if we scored a goal.
“That’s exactly what we did. We worked really hard and with Fernando getting the first goal early on in the half it gave us the belief that we could go on and win the game.
“The most important thing is to keep taking it one game at a time.
“It was great to win a game like this one because it gives us even more belief and confidence but we know it is still very early in what will be a long season and we have to keep focusing on getting results.
“I hadn’t been thinking of the fact it had been so long since I scored a goal in the league but it was great to score such an important one at the very end of a game and I am even more delighted because it gave us the three points we wanted so badly.”
“Now hopefully we can keep it going.”
The Slovakian defender was carried off in agony after falling awkwardly in the latter stages of the Reds 3-2 win yesterday.
Skrtel was also given oxygen on the pitch and Liverpool’s worst fears were today realised when the results of the scan showed that he sustained an injury to his posterior cruciate ligament.
He will see a specialist tomorrow, at which point it will be determined how long he is likely to be out of action.
Club spokesman Ian Cotton said: “Martin underwent a scan this morning which showed damage to the posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
“He will see a specialist tomorrow to assess the extent of the injury and will then have an accurate idea of the time scales involved before he is back playing again.”
Meanwhile, Dirk Kuyt today dedicated his winning goal in yesterday’s clash to his stricken team-mate and admitted the sight of Skrtel being carried off made Liverpool even more determined to secure victory.
“Martin’s injury looked very ugly but hopefully it will not be too serious,” said the Dutchman.
“He is due to have a scan and with a bit of luck it will turn out to be not so bad but we will have to wait and see.
“It was great for us to take all three points after what happened to Martin and I think we all wanted to win it for him.”
It is feared Skrtel has suffered a knee ligament injury but nothing will be confirmed until the results of the scan are known.
Reds boss Rafa Benitez said: “Martin has twisted his knee and we will have to wait for the scan but we think it could be serious.
“That's the bad news for us from yesterday. When a player like Martin is on the ground you know it’s serious so we will keep our fingers crossed that it won’t be too bad.”
After going 2-0 down to City before half-time, Liverpool staged a remarkable second half comeback which saw them win the game thanks to a brace from Fernando Torres and Kuyt’s last gasp strike from close range.
Kuyt was delighted to score his first league goal since last November but he insists he is even more pleased that the Reds managed to take all three points after an opening 45 minutes which he readily admits was Liverpool’s worst of the season so far.
He said: “It was a really important win for us. I think the first half was our worst 45 minutes of the season but we were a completely different side in the second half.
“At half-time the manager told us that we had to go back out there and play our own game and that we would be back in the game if we scored a goal.
“That’s exactly what we did. We worked really hard and with Fernando getting the first goal early on in the half it gave us the belief that we could go on and win the game.
“The most important thing is to keep taking it one game at a time.
“It was great to win a game like this one because it gives us even more belief and confidence but we know it is still very early in what will be a long season and we have to keep focusing on getting results.
“I hadn’t been thinking of the fact it had been so long since I scored a goal in the league but it was great to score such an important one at the very end of a game and I am even more delighted because it gave us the three points we wanted so badly.”
“Now hopefully we can keep it going.”
No comments:
Post a Comment