Roy Hodgson has dismissed any fears that Steven Gerrard could not be fit by next week.The Reds skipper sustained a hamstring tear whilst on international duty, after England boss Fabio Capello played the 30-year-old for longer than the stipulated time that had been agreed with the Merseyside club.

Having returned to training, it had previously been reported that the Kop favourite had suffered a serious setback during midweek, which cast doubts over whether he would be fit in time for the clash against Newcastle United next week.

However, the former Fulham boss insists that it is only a minor aggravation that poses no cause for concern.

"There's no problem with Brad Friedel," Hodgson told reporters. "It turned out that he just tweaked a bit of scar tissue. I spoke to him after Tuesday's training and he did say he felt he had tweaked something.