Liverpool Echo: Adam could be back by end of the season

This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.

Kenny Dalglish is hoping Charlie Adam's knee injury won't require surgery and the Liverpool FC midfielder could return to action before the end of the season.

The Scotland international has been on crutches after being forced off in last week's defeat at QPR following a crunching tackle with Armand Traore.

Dalglish has revealed a scan showed that Adam strained ligaments and there are currently no plans for him to undergo an operation.

The 26-year-old will certainly miss Sunday's clash at Newcastle and the matches over Easter against Aston Villa and Blackburn. He is also set to be sidelined for the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on April 14.

However, the manager hasn't given up hope of having Adam back to play some part in the run in.

"We know Charlie has strained knee ligaments but we still don't know how long he will be out," Dalglish said.

"He hasn't had an operation and as it stands he's not having one.

"It's only been a week since he did it. He needs to rest it for another 10 days or so and then he will be reassessed.

"We'll see how he is then and we'll be in a better position to know when he will be back playing.

"We haven't ruled him out for the rest of the season. We're just waiting to see how he progresses."

Dalglish is hoping Liverpool will reap the rewards of having a full week to prepare for Sunday's Premier League trip to Newcastle.

The boss blamed fatigue for last Saturday's home defeat to Wigan which was the Reds' sixth game in 21 days.

"The time certainly won't go wasted," Dalglish said. "We've got a clear week for everyone to get some rest and for us to get some training done.

"I'm sure everyone will benefit from that."

As well as Adam, Liverpool's squad has been depleted by injuries to Craig Bellamy (calf), Glen Johnson (calf), Daniel Agger (rib) and Martin Kelly (ankle).

However, Dalglish hopes to have some of those names back for this weekend.

"They are all making progress," he added.

"They are all training to various degrees and we will monitor them throughout the week.

"If they're ready to play they will come back into our plans for Sunday."

Source: Liverpool Echo

This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.