Gerard Houllier has hit out at Blackburn's Lucas Neill over the tackle which resulted in Jamie Carragher suffering a broken leg. England international Carragher will be out of action for up to six months after being injured in a tackle by Neill, who was immediately red-carded in the 3-1 victory for the Anfield side.
Houllier said: "I said after the game it was a tackle that could have broken his leg - and sadly that is what's happened. To me it was coward's challenge. I am gutted for Jamie. He won't be able to play for another six months - but Neill will be playing again in three matches' time. I can imagine what Graeme Souness would have been saying about it if one of his players had their leg broken in a similar way," Houllier told The Sun.
Meanwhile, Markus Babbel has expressed his sympathy with former team-mate Milan Baros after the Czech international was also badly injured in the same game. Baros is expected to be out until the new year after he suffered a broken ankle when he fell awkwardly after a tackle from Babbel.
The German defender, on loan at Ewood Park, told The Sun: "It was a shock because it was a normal challenge. I went for the ball, and it was a fair tackle. But right from the first second I could see he was in pain, and I felt so sorry for him. I feel terrible. I like Milan a lot - I used to sit next to him in the dressing room at Liverpool. He is a nice lad, one of the players I know best.
"I just cannot see how this happened. It was not a bad tackle, just two players going for the same ball. After the game, I went to the Liverpool dressing room and found out which hospital he was in so I could visit him and just say I'm sorry that this unfortunate thing has happened."
Filed by Johnny Proby
