No Stevie Gerrard For Three Weeks, Can Liverpool Survive?

Much has been said about Liverpool's reliance on Steven Gerrard, their star midfielder, who has been instrumental in the fortunes of the Anfield giants.

The 28-year-old midfielder limped off the field 16 minutes into Wednesday's fourth-round replay against Everton at Goodison Park.  He is now doubtful for the club's next two Premier League games against Portsmouth and Manchester City.

Gerrard may also miss the first leg of the next round in the Champions League against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Feb. 25.

With reports that "Captain Courageous" will be out up to three weeks due to the nature of the hamstring tear he suffered, many are wondering how Liverpool will cope.

Gerrard is Liverpool's record goal scorer in Europe and has played through pain before, with both a hairline toe fracture and groin injury (which he later had surgery on) not keeping him on the side.

But this injury is different, and many are pointing to the loss of Everton as a sign of how poorly Liverpool plays without their talisman skipper.

Although earlier reports put his absence at six to eight weeks, new information indicates the period may be much less.

But still, can Liverpool cope? As Steve McManaman has pointed out:

"Liverpool haven’t got an awful lot of creative players right now. All the fans are saying they need another right midfielder, another left midfielder...but certainly when Stevie G goes off – he’s the one real creative player they’ve got."

So does this spell certain doom for Liverpool in the meantime, or can they somehow cope? If so, who will step up to help fill the void in the meantime?

As an Arsenal supporter, I know first hand the impact that losing your skipper and main creative playmaker can have. While Arsenal have not lost a league game, while Fabregas has been out, can Liverpool keep pace with Manchester United in their race for the EPL title?