Capello and Hodgson to discuss Gerrard injury

Fabio Capello has promised he'll ring Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson to explain the circumstances behind Steven Gerrard's hamstring injury. The England midfielder suffered a grade-two tear of the muscle in the closing minutes of Wednesday night's abject defeat to France, an injury that provoked a furious reaction from the club's conditioning coach Darren Burgess. In a tweet sent within a couple of hours of the match, Burgess blasted the England management for their "incompetence" and accused them of being "completely amateurish" in their handling of Gerrard.

Though Burgess is said to now regret the vehemence of his twitter rant, Liverpool have shown for tacit approval for it by refusing to apologise and declining to take any action against the conditioning coach. The club is livid that Capello kept Gerrard on the pitch after it had been agreed earlier in the day that he would play no more than an hour. But when Rio Ferdinand and Gareth Barry limped off at half-time, Capello was forced to break his word and keep Gerrard on, the result being a torn hamstring five minutes from time.

Asked if he intends to contact Hodgson, Capello said he would, though it appears it will be an explanation he offers the Liverpool boss and not an apology. "I know that Steven is a really important player," said Capello. "I will speak with him [Hodgson] to explain, but to explain what? Injuries can happen. We were trying to win the game, he is really important and we had a lot of injuries in midfield. That is why he stayed on the pitch."

Gerrard underwent a scan on Thursday (the result of which has yet to be made public) but it's believed he'll be sidelined for a month, a grievous blow for Liverpool as they look to play themselves out of their poor start to the season. So far the Red have won just four of their first 13 Premier League matches and with Joe Cole also crocked the news of Gerrard's enforced absent has not gone down well on Merseyside.

"It certainly looks like a significant hamstring injury," said Dr Peter Brukner, head of sports medicine at Anfield. "Steven's going to be out for a little while, I'm afraid. I'd imagine it could be three to four weeks. If you put your hand up to play for your country, you've got to accept how long they want you to play for. There were obviously circumstances, which came together to result in Steven playing for a bit longer than we'd hoped, which is disappointing but there's nothing we can do about that now."

And according to a report in today's Sun, Liverpool may demand that the FA pay Gerrard's wages during his spell on the sidelines as he was injured in England duty.  The Liverpool skipper takes home £120,000-a-week so if the medical prognosis is correct he could earn nearly half a million as he waits for his hamstring to heal, money for which Liverpool want to be compensated. ·