Filed under: Liverpool, Premier League, Football
Steven Gerrard has been labelled many things during his illustrious career but rarely, if ever, has the Liverpool captain been called a "forgotten man".Milan Jovanovic, Paul Konchesky, Christian Poulsen and Joe Cole. There is a case that each could be classed as players no longer occupying the thoughts of fans at Anfield. Not Gerrard.
But it is another sign of the remarkable restoration work Kenny Dalglish has performed that Liverpool's influential captain has hardly been missed since it was announced that he would not play again this season.
Gerrard's last appearance on the Premier League stage was the 3-1 win against Manchester United on March 6.
Since then Dalglish's side have clawed 13 points out of 18 on offer.
Liverpool trailed fifth-placed Tottenham by six points having played a game more than Harry Redknapp's side when Gerrard's season was curtailed by a groin injury.
Yet two months on it is Tottenham who trail fifth-placed Liverpool, albeit on goal difference.
"Being injured is absolutely killing me," Gerrard wrote in his programme notes for the match against Newcastle which ended in a third successive clean sheet home win for Dalglish's men.
"The manager and everyone else do their best to make you feel part of it but unless you are out there starting every week it doesn't quite feel the same.
"Having said that, I am pleased I have had the surgery because for the first time in a while I'm feeling confident about my groin. Fingers crossed I'll be there on the first day of pre-season."
Of course Gerrard has been missed and his eventual return, which could yet be on the Europa League stage, will be celebrated by Liverpool's fans.
Four weeks short of his 31st birthday, Gerrard remains an integral part of the team, the heartbeat of the midfield with a tremendous work ethic and huge appetite for the game.
But the doom and gloom merchants who predicted Liverpool would fall apart when it was announced Gerrard would not play again this season have been proved wrong.
Jay Spearing has proved in Gerrard's absence that he is good enough for this level, the 22-year-old academy graduate making confident and tireless contributions in central midfield.
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