By FRANCO PANIZO
If Liverpool is to overcome its less-than-stellar start to the season and get back in contention for a Champions League spot, it will have to do so without one of its top players.
Lucas Leiva has been ruled out for the remainder of the Premiership campaign after sustaining a knee injury in Liverpool's 2-0 quarterfinal victory over Chelsea in the Carling Cup on Tuesday. The 24-year-old midfielder was stretchered off the field following a collision with Juan Mata.
Having proven to be one of Liverpool's best players during the past two seasons, Lucas is set to undergo surgery after a scan revealed a torn ACL in his left knee.
The news comes as a crushing blow to the Reds, which currently sit in sixth place in the Premier League.
Here are more stories from Thursday:
EUROPA LEAGUE ACTION RESUMES
The fifth round of fixtures in the Europa League will continue on Thursday, and three Americans Abroad should see the field for their respective teams. Oguchi Onyewu, Jermaine Jones and Sacha Kljestan seem all but certain to start, while Clint Dempsey will not dress for Fulham as he recovers from a thigh injury.
Here's Thursday's full list of matches:
Group D: FC Vaslui vs. Lazio, Sporting Lisbon vs. FC Zurich
Group E: Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs. Besiktas, Stoke City vs. Dynamo Kiev
Group F: Atletico Bilbao vs. Slovan Bratislava, SV Salzburg vs. Paris Saint-Germain
Group J: AEK Larnaca vs. Maccabi Haifa, Schalke 04 vs. Steaua Bucuresti
Group K: Odense BK vs. Wisla Krakow, FC Twente vs. Fulham
Group L: Lokomotiv Moscow vs. SK Sturm Graz, AEK Athens vs. Anderlecht
55 PLAYERS NOMINATED FOR FIFPRO WORLD XI
55 players have been nominated for the FIFA FIFPro World XI, including Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Iker Casillas. In total, 22 players on the list ply their trade in La Liga, while another 18 come from the English Premier League.
The nominees were voted on by the 50,000 players belonging to the players' unions across the world that make up FIFPro. The final XI will be announced in January at the FIFA Ballon d'Or ceremony in Zurich.
MORELA WINS FIRST LEG OVER SANTOS IN MEXICAN SEMIFINALS
Morelia is one step closer to reaching the Apertura Liguilla final after defeating Santos Laguna, 2-1, in the first leg of their semifinal series on Wednesday night. In a wide open affair, Morelia rode first-half goals from Jaime Lozano and Edgar Lugo to victory. Santos avoided entering its home fixture of the series with a two-goal deficit, however, when Oribe Peralta Morones scored late in the game.
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How do you see Liverpool faring without Lucas? Which Europa League match are you most looking forward to today? Who should be on the World XI?
Share your thoughts below.
Kljestan would not start on any of those 3 teams.
They are better they have better squads. If you watch 1 random CCL game involving and MLS team you can’t really judge the MLS’s level. I am sure NASL fans were saying their team was on the Galaxy’s level based on how they played the Islanders one game doesn’t tell you enough.
They’re not.
Morelia also had a baby owl crash-land on their field in the 7th minute. It was flying across the stadium but half of its feathers were still baby down and it wasn’t very aerodynamic. It tumbled over mid-flight and fell on to the field. The ref stopped play and someone threw a blanket over the owl and carried it off the field.
I think Aurelio has played there before, and I wouldn’t mind seeing Agger try the role. Excellent defender with good passing ability and foot skills. He’s also quicker than Adam.
Dempsey needs to get out of Fulham ASAP. Next season will be a bummer. Guys like AJ/Zamora are getting way old and will be gone. The manager needs to spend big to replenish this side. Dembele and Ruiz need to actually push themselves and score goals to help the team rise. I can honestly see Dempsey leaving finally for a CL team willing to spend on him. He’ll be 29 yes but he has international and European experience. Easily worth 6 million pounds. I can see PSG and Villarreal seriously going for him again.
I’m watching the AEK-Anderlecht game right now. I don’t think either of these teams are all that much better than the Galaxy/Sounders/RSL.
Damn, that’s a huge blow to Liverpool.
Liverpool may have to play Charlie Adam or Stevie G (when he gets back) in the hole. Not a good answer as both are better more forward. Perhaps they can train one of their young wings to be the ball winner? Perhaps striker Andy Carroll since he’s not doing anything.