Agger ruled out for the rest of season

Liverpool's defensive crisis was exacerbated yesterday by news that Daniel Agger will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.

Manager Kenny Dalglish confirmed that he would be without the Denmark international for Liverpool's final seven matches. Glen Johnson and Martin Kelly will both miss the next three weeks, as Liverpool struggle for defenders ahead of Monday's game against Manchester City.

Agger was injured in the first half of Saturday's 2-1 defeat at West Bromwich Albion, and Dalglish yesterday said that the 26-year-old would not be able to train for the next few months. "Daniel has a problem with the tendon behind his knee and won't be involved again this season," Dalglish said. "He'll be out for a couple of months before he can start training."

The defensive injury problems were not limited to Agger, however, as Dalglish explained with reference to Johnson and Kelly: "Glen Johnson has a hamstring problem which is usually about three or four weeks and it's the same for Martin Kelly.

"It's disappointing for the players because they want to play in every game," said Dalglish. "We're getting towards the end of the season but if you're injured you're injured. We feel for them but the most important people at the football club are the ones who are fit and able to play. We have to get on with what we've got. Fabio Aurelio and Jonjo Shelvey are training again and David Ngog had a game for the reserves on Monday. So we've lost some but we've got a few back"

Dalglish also confirmed that there would be further tests on Steven Gerrard's hamstring injury. The Liverpool captain was hoping to return at West Brom following a groin operation but suffered a recurrence in training on Friday. "We will know about Steven at the end of the week. He will be assessed and we'll see what the story is," Dalglish added.