Henchoz facing five-week lay-off
Monday, October 7, 2002
Article summary
Liverpool FC's Stéphane Henchoz is to have calf surgery that will rule him out for over a month.
Article body
Liverpool FC central defender Stéphane Henchoz faces up to five weeks out of action after picking up a calf injury against Chelsea FC at Anfield on Sunday.
Surgery required
The Switzerland defender was substituted in the first half of Liverpool's 1-0 victory and will now undergo surgery tomorrow. Liverpool's assistant manager Phil Thompson said: "It's a shame for Stéphane but he has a calf problem and will have an operation on Tuesday. He will be out for about four or five weeks."
Champions League doubt
Any further participation by Henchoz in Liverpool's UEFA Champions League first group stage is now in doubt. Liverpool have four points from three games and are third in Group B.
'Very influential'
"Obviously it's a big blow for us because Stéphane is a very influential player, but when you have somebody of the calibre of Djimi Traore to come in and take his place then that makes things a bit easier," Thompson added. "Djimi has been tremendous and I have no doubts he will fill in well for Stéphane."
Out of qualifiers
The injury is also a setback for the Switzerland national side as Henchoz will miss the EURO 2004™ qualifying matches against Albania in Tirana on Saturday and the Republic of Ireland the following Wednesday in Dublin.