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Following on earlier speculation that Steven Gerrard would advance plans to undergo surgery to deal with a persistent shoulder injury that has bothered him throughout the season, Liverpool have now confirmed that the player will in fact miss the final two games of the season in order to do so.
The original plan was for Gerrard to wait until the season was over, but in recent weeks the injury has grown more difficult to play through. With Liverpool's season effectively over with Everton five points ahead in the standings and West Brom seven behind with only two games left, there was no reason to hold off any longer.
Undergoing surgery now will also ensure that Gerrard is fit in time for the start of pre-season. In addition to Liverpool's remaining games against Fulham and QPR, he will also miss an England friendly against Brazil on June 1st. It further means that last Sunday's derby match against Everton will be the last time Gerrard and Jamie Carragher ever played together competitively.
Though Gerrard will miss out on the chance to start every single league match for the first time in his career, the 36 that he has started this season is already a personal best, topping the 2006-07 campaign in which he started 35 times and came off the bench once in the league.
Read More: Gerrard: It's Not All Doom and Gloom