Liverpool News: Reds Right Not to Rush Steven Gerrard After Thrashing at Spurs

There is plenty of panic on Merseyside after two consecutive losses by their beloved Liverpool side, though the Reds must take care not to overreact to the present circumstances and bring Steven Gerrard back before he's fit.

Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish has made it clear that he will not rush Gerrard back from the groin injury that has kept him out since March and for which he underwent surgery. The long-time midfielder could be ready in time for the Reds' Carling Cup match against Brighton on Wednesday, though Dalglish remained non-committal:

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"It's natural everyone wants to chase for Stevie, especially after you have lost 4-0. But we'll monitor it, take it how it goes and when both parties agree he'll play." 

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Surely, Liverpool have not played well in either of their two most recent matches, looking anything like the re-energized bunch that danced over Arsenal and Bolton Wanderers, and could use Gerrard on the pitch. They were physically beaten, bloodied and bruised up at the Britannia Stadium by Stoke City in a 1-0 loss last week and came out flat in what became a 4-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on Sunday. 

To their credit, the Reds were the recipients of some unseasonably bad breaks from the referees in those two contests. Against Stoke, Liverpool suffered from the shoddy work of Mark Clattenburg on numerous occasions.

The most important, of course, was on Jamie Carragher's "foul" on Jon Walters, for which Clattenburg was clearly out of position on the call. Nonetheless, he awarded the Potters with a penalty that Walters promptly put through for the winner.

The Reds' bum luck with officiating came back to bite them against Spurs. Referee Lee Probert sent off Charlie Adam with a second yellow card in the 28th minute and then really crippled Liverpool's chances with another booking for Martin Skrtel, reducing the Reds to nine minutes in the 63rd.

Granted, Probert wasn't entirely out of line with his work at White Hart Lane. Both Adam and Skrtel were a step or two slow against Spurs, with Skrtel in particular struggling so mightily to stay with Gareth Bale. 

Frankly, this Liverpool side was bound to come crashing back to Earth at some point, at least for a moment. The Reds have yet to establish much continuity overall after eight months of changes under Kenny Dalglish. Luis Suarez has been an absolute talisman on Merseyside thus far, Andy Carroll has been significantly less than stellar a nd the summer trio of Adam, Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing have peppered the spectrum in between.

Which would seem to make the need for Gerrard's return that much more pressing, especially with the Reds already being eight points out from the top of the table in the Premier League.

The league season is a long one and it's still far too early into Dalglish's extreme makeover for the Liverpool boss to jeopardize its success with any sort of snap judgment. The Reds will have plenty of opportunity to regroup, against Brighton and Wolverhampton Wanderers this week and Everton in the one following, before their mega-match against Manchester United at Anfield.

However, even then it may be too early to judge Liverpool too harshly if they struggle or laud them too feverishly if they succeed.

The Reds have more than enough quality to challenge for a top four finish in the Premiership. They need only give the new boys more time to get acclimated and the injured like Gerrard a bit more leeway on the mend, before things really turn around.

With a bit of patience, the Kop will be rocking once again before season's end.

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