Blessing or Blow?

Liverpool striker Fernando Morientes has been sidelined for up to two weeks by the injury he picked up in training.

The former Real Madrid man was forced to withdraw from the Spanish squad on Tuesday night after injuring his hamstring in the final training session before Spain face Serbia and Montenegro.

Tests by medical staff with the Spanish team confirmed that the 29-year-old Liverpool forward had sustained an injury to his left thigh.

In remarks reported on the www.marca.es website, team doctor Genaro Borras said: "We have done the relevant tests this morning and we have discovered that he is suffering a micro-rupture of the femoral biceps in the left leg.

"It's an injury that we estimate will sideline him for a period of between 10 days and a fortnight."

The Spaniard's hamstring injury puts Djibril Cisse firmly in the spotlight. Cisse had been said to complain that he was being touted around Europe in the transfer window, but manager Rafael Benitez dismissed those suggestions and now clearly expects him to knuckle down.

Benitez said: "Cisse knows what he has to do for us, work hard, try to score goals and stay fit all season. And not to let other things distract him.

"The rumours about Cisse were already going around long before we beat CSKA Moscow in the Super Cup last week, and he still managed to score two goals for us that night."

Now Cisse will get his chance to play as Liverpool's main frontman, probably alongside Peter Crouch, ironically the partnership which has so far this term looked Liverpool's most productive. And it's from this point of view a Liverpool fan would have to wonder whether Nando's injury is a blessing or a blow. Morrientes has still to convince Red fans that he is up to the job of leading their attack, something that Benitez himself has no doubt about. However, good displays from a prelonged exposure, say for 2 or 3 games, to a Crouch-Cisse partnership may be enough to convince Rafa to do what most fans think and not put all your hopes in the ageing ex-Madrid striker.

The height and awkwardness of the former Southampton man complimented the pace and movement of Cisse in previous games, while Morientes' form has been patchy to say the least this term.

It is anything but ideal for Benitez, who during the summer transfer window made some dramatic decisions about his strike force by selling last season's top scorer Milan Baros to Aston Villa, and sending youngster Anthony Le Tallec out on a season-long loan to Sunderland that cannot be reversed. He thenfailed in his bid to bring Owen back to Anfield when Newcastle's club-record bid blew Liverpool out of the transfer negotiations.

New striker Crouch, a £7million signing from Southampton, is at last available again after a hamstring injury and suspension ruled him out of the opening games of the season, but although he will be in the squad at Spurs he is hardly match-fit, while Florent Sinama-Pongolle has only just returned to action following his broken leg suffered last February in the Carling Cup at Spurs. Meanwhile, Neil Mellor, who was also nearly sold (to Sheffield United) before the transfer window shut, is still recovering from a shin operation.

All this brings Cisse firmly into the equation. He suffered an ankle injury for France in the win over the Faroe Islands at the weekend but will now find himself centre stage at Anfield in the coming weeks.