SOCCER: Liverpool and England have received the news they had been dreading, with confirmation Steven Gerrard has broken his foot and could be sidelined until Christmas.

The 23-year-old injured his left foot when he jarred it into the ground. He limped out of Monday's 2-1 Premiership defeat at Manchester United, with X-rays undertaken yesterday revealing he has broken the fifth metatarsal. Liverpool have ruled him out for eight weeks though, given recent cases, that may prove optimistic.

Gerrard will miss next month's World Cup qualifiers against Wales and Azerbaijan after becoming the fifth England player to succumb to a metatarsal fracture in the last two years.

David Beckham, Danny Murphy, Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney have all spent lengthy periods in rehabilitation after breaking the bone, with the latter two ruled out for considerably longer than two months.

Neville was out of action for almost five months, missing the 2002 World Cup finals in the process, after sustaining his injury in the semi-final of the Champions League against Bayer Leverkusen in April 2002.

It has already been three months since Rooney succumbed to an injury, identical to that suffered by Gerrard, against Portugal during the quarter-final of Euro 2004.

Rooney is due to have a scan today to check on the progress of the injury and is expected to return to action for Manchester United against Middlesbrough on October 3rd.

The fifth metatarsal is renowned for healing slower than the other four largely due to the poor blood supply by which it is served. That is likely to see Gerrard sidelined for nearer three months at best, taking him up to the end of December before he can return to action.

His absence will come as a major setback for Sven-Goran Eriksson with qualification for World Cup 2006 in mind, though the Swede does at least have alternatives in central midfield. "It's bad news for Liverpool, for him and for us," Eriksson said.

Owen Hargreaves and Nicky Butt will come into contention for October's qualifiers, while there remains the option of reverting Beckham to a central role and including Shaun Wright-Phillips on the right wing.

Yet, for Liverpool, the injury could prove disastrous. Rafael Benitez's side must expect to be without their captain for the rest of their Champions League group campaign - they face Olympiakos, Deportivo La Coruna and Monaco - not to mention up to 12 Premiership games.

The development of the pairing of Xabi Alonso and Gerrard in the centre has been checked at an early stage, with Dietmar Hamann the likeliest alternative option available.

"We have Hamann and Alonso, who both played well at Old Trafford," said Benitez.

"I also hope Igor Biscan and Salif Diao can do well. This is a big blow but we have a good squad with players to come in."

Yet the Spaniard will be without the drive and attacking verve provided by Gerrard through the middle.

The captain's very future at Anfield hinges on a successful first season under Benitez to deflect expected interest from Chelsea and the continent next summer.

Without Gerrard in their ranks Liverpool will be hard pressed to break into the Premiership's top three, casting further doubt over the midfielder's long-term future at the club. Without him last season the club would have struggled to have finished fourth to secure a return to Europe's elite.

"I will try to remain positive," said Gerrard. "Xabi Alonso played the ball to me and I caught my foot in the turf. It's devastating to be out for so long."

Meanwhile Eriksson indicated that Rio Ferdinand would make an immediate England return after making his first appearance for Manchester United since completing an eight-month ban. Although the Swede was not at Old Trafford, he said: "I heard (Ferdinand) played well. He will be picked if he is fit, of course he will,"

Eriksson last night played down suggestions he would be interested in the vacant manager's post at Real Madrid. The England coach, under contract until the 2008 European Championships, said: "I haven't spoken to anyone from that club. I have a contract and that's it. It is not an issue to decide."

Meanwhile, Mikael Silvestre did his best to steal Ferdinand's thunder by scoring both goals in United's win over Liverpool. But his match-winning contributions only underlined the inspirational effect of his defensive partner's long-awaited return.

Ferdinand also tried to play down the significance of his reappearance after his eight-month ban for missing a dope test but neither Silvestre's goals nor Ferdinand's words could mask the difference one man and one match has made to the perspective for United who visit Tottenham on Saturday in very different heart.

Even the England outlook ahead of Wales and Azerbaijan has brightened with the prospect of not only Ferdinand's return but the possibility that Gary Neville and Rooney might be fit enough to demand Eriksson's attention.

Silvestre had been at risk of dropping to the substitutes' bench to make way for Ferdinand but Alex Ferguson was rewarded in style for deciding to keep faith with the central defensive partnership that boasted an impressive 12 clean sheets in 23 outings last season before Ferdinand started his ban in January.

The Frenchman said after Monday's win that he and Ferdinand do not work specifically on their partnership in training, which only made their contribution the more impressive.

Silvestre said: "It was great to have Rio back. It looked like we last played together only last week because our partnership seems to be so natural. It's strange because we don't really work on it. I guess it is because he is such a great professional and has come back with a great attitude. Rio is as big a player for us as Jaap Stam, Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister were in years gone by."

Ferdinand was surprised to receive a man-of-the-match award but it was more than coincidence that his return coincided with United's best performance of the season.

He said: "I didn't want my comeback to overshadow the team's performance so thankfully they were able to put it to one side and get the result we deserved. Everyone has been fantastic to me and just to get out there for the warm-up and hear the fans, rather than sitting in the directors' box as I have been, was fantastic."