Gerrard will miss Wales clash

Steven Gerrard will miss England's World Cup qualifiers against Wales and Azerbaijan next month after an X-ray this morning confirmed he had broken a bone in his foot.

The Liverpool midfielder will miss eight weeks of action after suffering a fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his left foot in last night's 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford.

The injury adds to England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson's injury worries with Gary Neville already ruled out and Wayne Rooney still to recover from a similar injury to Gerrard's.

As well as the England double header, Gerrard will also miss six league games and both Champions League encounters against Deportivo La Coruna as well as the trip to Olympiakos.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez said after last night's game: "There was no-one near him when it happened. He just jarred his foot.

"It is a blow because we have some big games in Europe coming up. But we have a big squad and we will have to cope without him."