Liverpool face up to life without Lucas

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish goes into Monday’s Premier League clash against Fulham hoping his players can show he doesn’t need to sign a replacement for injured star Lucas Leiva.

Reds midfielder Lucas has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after the Brazilian suffered cruciate ligament damage to his left knee in the League Cup win over Chelsea.

Dalglish has already recalled Jonjo Shelvey from Blackpool, however the Scot confirmed Alberto Aquilani is unable to return from AC Milan under the terms of their agreement with the Italian club.

The Liverpool boss also revealed he expects skipper Steven Gerrard to be back “sooner rather than later”, while he also has the likes of Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam and Jay Spearing to call on in the centre of midfield.

But Dalglish, whose team will look to continue their push for a top four finish at Craven Cottage, insisted he will not be rushed into deciding whether further strengthening will be necessary next month.

“We don’t need to make a decision about January at the beginning of December. We have a really strong squad and have to cater for suspensions, injuries, loss of form, fatigue, whatever,” Dalglish said.

“We’d much rather have Lucas fit and well but we don’t have that. It’s up to us to accommodate that and make sure that we can handle it.”

Dalglish revealed the Reds are now eager for Lucas to undergo surgery as soon as possible and insisted the player has the mental toughness to recover from the injury.

He added: “He’ll have it as soon as he can get it, after we decide where he’s going to go (to have the operation).

“I’ve seen him, and while it’s obviously not the happiest time of his career, he’s not moping about or feeling sorry for himself.

“Lucas is very strong mentally and that will help him during his rehabilitation. The sooner he is back the better.”

Spearing looks the most likely candidate to replace Lucas at Fulham, who will be eager to gain revenge for their 5-1 defeat to Dalglish’s team at Craven Cottage in May.

“The strength of your squad is the ability of the ones who don’t play as often as the others,” Dalglish added.

“We trust every one of them. They’ve got a spontaneous decision to make - they won’t always make the right one but as long as their heart is in the right place, we’ll stand by every single one of the players.”

Meanwhile, Fulham’s £10 million winger Bryan Ruiz has admitted he has made an indifferent start to life in the Premier League.

“I was not frustrated by my start at Fulham but of course I would like it to have been better,” he said.

“I feel strong and hopefully I will get more time. I think I can help provide goals. All the players will do our best and do better in the team.

“I think we have good quality up front. We have many good players that can score and create chances. We have to improve that because I know we can do much better.”

Gerrard remains sidelined with an ankle infection, while Cottagers winger Damien Duff is doubtful after suffering the recurrence of a calf injury.

Clint Dempsey is expected to recover from a thigh problem, while Ruiz comes back into contention after being cup-tied against former club Twente in midweek.

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