Houllier slams 'coward' Neill

Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier has hit out at Blackburn full-back Lucas Neill over the tackle which resulted in Jamie Carragher suffering a broken leg.

England international Carragher will be out of action for up to six months after being injured in a tackle by Neill, who was immediately red-carded in the 3-1 victory for the Anfield side.

Houllier said: “I said after the game it was a tackle that could have broken his leg – and sadly that is what’s happened.

“To me it was coward’s challenge. I am gutted for Jamie. He won’t be able to play for another six months – but Neill will be playing again in three matches’ time.

“I can imagine what Graeme Souness would have been saying about it if one of his players had their leg broken in a similar way,” Houllier told The Sun.

Meanwhile, Markus Babbel has expressed his sympathy with former team-mate Milan Baros after the Czech international was also badly injured in the same game.

Baros is expected to be out until the new year after he suffered a broken ankle when he fell awkwardly after a tackle from Babbel.

The German defender, on loan at Ewood Park, told The Sun: “It was a shock because it was a normal challenge. I went for the ball, and it was a fair tackle.

“But right from the first second I could see he was in pain, and I felt so sorry for him.

“I feel terrible. I like Milan a lot – I used to sit next to him in the dressing room at Liverpool. He is a nice lad, one of the players I know best.

“I just cannot see how this happened. It was not a bad tackle, just two players going for the same ball.

“After the game, I went to the Liverpool dressing room and found out which hospital he was in so I could visit him and just say I’m sorry that this unfortunate thing has happened.”