Liverpool inspirational captain Steven Gerrard has a torn hamstring and will be out for at least three weeks, medical reports at Melwood have confirmed. Steven Gerrard limped off after just 16 minutes on Wednesday night against Everton, and without him, Liverpool were like a third rate side against their Everton rivals. The prospect of losing Gerrard in this crucial stage of the season for such a long time could prove disastrous for Liverpool's season.

The key midfielder will now miss Saturday's match against Portsmouth and next week's England's friendly against Spain, which is relaltively unimportant anyway. Most Liverpool supporters hate sharing their players with the England national side, but Gerrard will also miss the tough visit of Manchester City.

He is also unlikely to play in the Champions League tie against Real Madrid on February 25 – the chances of him being fully fit against the Queen of Europe being marginal at best.

Stevie G has netted no less than 11 league goals for Liverpool this season, his contribution on the pitch being priceless for Liverpool's title aspirations on the 20th year of the Hillsborough anniversary.

Currently, the Anfield Reds are two points behind champions Manchester United, who have played a game less, and the real battle of nerves is just beginning.

A club spokesman told the BBC: "A scan today has confirmed a tear in the hamstring of Steven's left leg. He will be out of action for about three weeks."

Meanwhile, Argentine midfielder Javier Mascherano has called on his Liverpool teammates not to lose any sleep over the Everton defeat and concentrate on the difficult task ahead of them. Liverpool are still fighting on two fronts, Europe and the domestic League, and the real challenge is yet to begin. 
 
"We have played a lot of games lately but we have one more on Saturday and then a two week break so we need to make sure we concentrate on winning against Portsmouth," he told Liverpoolfc.tv.
 
"If we play like we did against Chelsea then we can beat anyone. We have to win at Portsmouth but we know it will be a difficult game because they are a good team. It was very difficult to lose in the way we did at Everton," he added. "We played for 40 minutes with a man less and still came within a couple of minutes of going to penalties.
 
"We can't put our heads down though. We have to remember we are in a good position in the league and we want to stay there."