Hodgson looks to 'survive' Gerrard's absence

Angry Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson admits he is not concerned about England when it comes to the fitness of his captain Steven Gerrard.

The 30-year-old midfielder has been ruled out for up to a month with a hamstring tear sustained in Wednesday's friendly defeat to France at Wembley.

Gerrard was due to play for an hour but was on the pitch for 85 minutes before succumbing to injury.

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It leaves a huge hole in Liverpool's midfield, starting with today's clash against West Ham, and Hodgson can only hope the side can "survive" in their captain's absence.

"My interest in Steven Gerrard is what he does for Liverpool," said the Reds boss.

"I respect he is a top-class international player and is needed there as well but unfortunately I can't speak altruistically in this situation.

"There is no doubt we will miss him very much in the games to come.

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"We would have had a much better chance of winning the game tomorrow (against West Ham) with him than without him.

"It is not just Liverpool, if you take one or two players out of any team it will be much less effective than it was.

"I am not whining or crying about it. But if you ask questions like 'Can you cope without him?', 'Is it going to be okay?', 'Will everything be as good?' I can only say no it won't be.

"He is a goalscorer, a goal-maker and an inspirational leader and if you lose those three qualities in your team it is very hard to replace them.

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"That doesn't mean to say I don't believe in the players who will take the field tomorrow but the task is made harder by his absence.

"One hopes we will survive it, play well without him and other players will step up to the plate and do even more than they have been able to do so far."

Gerrard's absence could not have come at a worse time as recent performances have dipped, resulting in the end of a six-match unbeaten run at Stoke last Saturday.

"As Liverpool manager I am frustrated and disappointed to lose such an important player for such a long period of time," added Hodgson, who has not been contacted by England coach Fabio Capello. "Anything I say other than I am disappointed and even a little bit angry about would be dishonest."

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Hodgson's options have been complicated by Lucas Leiva's one-match suspension and Jay Spearing twisting an ankle in training yesterday morning.

He accepts it is impossible for anyone who deputises to be expected to put in the kind of performances the captain has become famous for.

But he wants the rest of the team to pull together and share the burden.

"I don't know the answer to how to replace him," said the manager.

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"It will be very important the people who play in his place put in some important performances.

"It is a huge blow to be without him in terms of his inspirational leadership, his energy and enthusiasm and not least in terms of his technique and what he brings to the team."

The most obvious solution appears to be to bring in Raul Meireles from the right to his more familiar central role, although a bolder move would be to field 18-year-old Jonjo Shelvey, who has made only three substitute appearances in the league since his summer move from Charlton.

"Raul is a quality player but he is adjusting to the demands of the Premier League and it is going to take a while for him to show us what he is about," said Hodgson of Meireles, an August arrival from Porto.

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"In terms of technical qualities he is the closest (to Gerrard) but if you are talking about the type, athleticism and potential then you might be looking at Jonjo Shelvey, who has quite a lot of Steven Gerrard in him.

"I'm not really hopeful on that (filling the void left by Gerrard).

"When you lose a player of Gerrard's undoubted ability anything you say other than it is going to be a huge blow to us would be a waste of breath."

Gallas deserves good reception

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp has questioned the logic of any Arsenal fan aiming abuse at William Gallas in today's north London derby.

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Gallas will return to the Emirates Stadium for the first time since completing one of the most controversial transfers of recent times by joining their arch-rivals Spurs.

But Redknapp cannot understand anyone wanting to jeer the 33-year-old, who was released by Arsenal at the end of last season.

He said: "You play for a club, play well for them: you should get a good reception, surely? What do they want to give them abuse for?

"He got freed from Arsenal and I took him to Tottenham and he wants to play football.

"I hope he gets a good reception."