"He's having a terrible time," said the Frenchman. "I have stuck by him but he just wasn't good enough against Basle.
"He's been going through a difficult period, he's got problems with confidence and has been down after his England displays. After injuries he has not got back to his best.
"We missed the good Steven Gerrard, the Steven Gerrard that we like and hopefully he will overcome this setback himself and come back even stronger."