Gerrard and Terry Warned of Perils of Painkillers

Steve McClaren may have expressed confidence that Steven Gerrard will be available for England's double-header against Israel and Russia but Rafael Benítez's misgivings about the midfielder's fitness were endorsed last night by one of the country's leading specialist sports doctors. Dr Mike Bundy, who has worked with UK Athletics and the England rugby team, believes Gerrard will be taking a "long-term risk" if he has an anesthetic to play.

The same warning applies to John Terry who, like Gerrard, has been in discomfort because of a broken toe and plans to have an injection to numb the pain. Benítez has already asked England's medical staff not to risk Gerrard aggravating his injury and Bundy can understand the Liverpool manager's concerns.

"It's a short-term gain for a long-term risk," says Bundy, of the Pure Sports Medicine clinic in London. "The worst-case scenario is that a footballer has a local anesthetic and makes the injury much worse by playing on it. The best is that he plays and nothing happens. But that's the risk you take."

McClaren clearly wants to take that risk at a time when he is already missing a long list of senior players, including Gerrard's regular partner in the center of midfield, Frank Lampard. Benítez, however, has other priorities, with Liverpool setting the pace at the top of the Premier League, and he is anxious that Gerrard does not return to Anfield in a worse condition. "We have not taken any risks with Steven at Liverpool and I would not expect England to take any risks with him," he said.

The question, says Bundy, is whether Gerrard is prepared to take the gamble. "If, for example, there was only one game left in the season and it was the FA Cup final, followed by a significant period of rest, I could see that it would be a big enough game to think it might be worth taking the risk."

There was, however, a clear risk that either Gerrard or Terry might regret not playing safe. "For a footballer with a broken toe a local anesthetic is injected to make it go numb so the player doesn't feel any pain for two or three hours, much like a dentist would numb a patient's gum before removing a tooth," said Bundy.

"Some players might think, 'Great, I don't feel any pain, I can run OK, kick the ball and I feel fine.' But potentially, if the toe is made numb and then reinjured - if someone stamps on the fracture, for example - that could make it far worse. That's the worry because if the player has had a local anesthetic he would not know it has happened until afterwards. Secondly, running around on a broken toe is not good for the healing process because the injury is being aggravated all the time."