Liverpool medical chief Dr Peter Brukner insists surgery was the only solution to Steven Gerrard’s troublesome groin injury.
The Reds skipper went under the knife on Thursday and will be sidelined for up to four weeks.
Brukner and his team had tried to nurse Gerrard back to fitness after he suffered the problem in the win over Chelsea on February 6.
Gerrard sat out three games before returning to face West Ham and Manchester United but it flared up again and he missed Thursday’s 1-0 Europa League defeat to Braga.
“Steven had a minor operation on Thursday and will be out for around three to four weeks,” Brukner said.
“We tried to manage it for a few weeks and he had a short break but he still wasn’t able to play at his best because of it. In the end we decided to go down this route. It’s nothing too serious but he needed to get it done.
“He has had a lot of problems in that area and they never completely go away. We needed to get on top of things. But it wasn’t a major problem and we’re hoping he will get back playing quickly.”
Gerrard will be sidelined for next Thursday’s second leg against Braga at Anfield and the league trip to Sunderland three days later.
He will also miss England’s Euro 2012 qualifier against Wales on March 26 and the following friendly against Ghana at Wembley.
Liverpool’s trip to West Brom on April 2 is likely to come too soon for him but he could return for the first leg of the Europa League quarter-final on April 7 if the Reds get past Braga.
The club’s head of sports medicine and sports science is confident Gerrard will be back play a key role in the final month of the campaign.
“Steven will be fine,” Brukner added. “He will make a good recovery and we will see the best of him again next month.”
Losing Gerrard is a major blow for boss Kenny Dalglish who is also currently without Daniel Agger, Fabio Aurelio, Martin Kelly and Jonjo Shelvey.
The skipper missed six games towards the end of 2010 after tearing his hamstring playing for England against France.
Dalglish and his squad have remained in Portugal following Thursday’s defeat to Braga for a weekend training camp.
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