Benitez: We can cope without Gerrard

"The injury is disappointing for the club and the player because we know how important Steven is to us," admitted the Liverpool boss.

"But we will be without him for two months now and we have to continue doing our jobs as well as we can.

"I am confident we have good players to play in midfield. Xabi Alonso and Dietmar Hamann played well at Manchester United and Igor Biscan and Salif Diao are also available.

"I can understand why supporters are worried about us being without him, but I trust the other players we have here to do a good job for us."