Premiership: Liverpool ko for Gerrard

England and Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard has been ruled out of action for around three weeks after injuring his ankle in pre-season training.

Gerrard, who has become a key member of Sven-Goran Eriksson’s international squad, twisted his ankle at the club’s training camp in Switzerland.

‘‘Steven was injured in training and he has a twisted ankle. He will be out for around three weeks,’’ Reds boss Gerrard Houllier told the club’s website, www.liverpoolfc.tv.

The 21-year-old will miss Liverpool’s friendly with Bayer Leverkusen in Austria tonight, as well as the club’s Far East tour.

And he could also face a battle to prove his fitness for England’s crucial World Cup showdown with Germany in Munich on September 1.