Liverpool, England (My Sportsbook) - Liverpool has been dealt a major double injury blow with news that Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres will not play against Sunderland on Saturday.

England midfielder Gerrard and Spain striker Torres both missed their country's midweek World Cup qualifiers after picking up groin problems earlier in the international break.

Gerrard's injury was thought to be more serious that Torres' but, speaking ahead of the trip to the Stadium of Light, Reds boss Rafael Benitez has revealed that neither of his two leading players will be fit enough to take part.

However, he does expect to have both available for the following Sunday's visit of Premier League rivals Manchester United.

"Both Steven and Fernando still have some problems," said Benitez. "They will need more time and won't be available this weekend. I think they could be available for next week."

However, Benitez has been lifted by the news that Greece defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos is not facing a period of months on the sidelines with a knee injury picked up on international duty.

He added: "With Kyrgiakos, we were really worried because people were talking about maybe six months, but after the scan we think one week to ten days. That's very positive."

(Courtesy of sportbox.tv)