Boss: Stevie is fit and flying
A 'harsh' red card for Steven Gerrard during England duty earlier this week could be a blessing in disguise for Liverpool according to Brendan Rodgers, who also discussed Raheem Sterling's call-up to the national squad.
The Reds captain was dismissed during the closing stages of the Three Lions' 1-1 draw with Ukraine on Tuesday, meaning the midfielder will be sidelined for the visit of San Marino when World Cup qualifying resumes in October.
Rodgers believes one match less for the 32-year-old can only be a positive for Liverpool, who are currently preparing for a run of seven fixtures in 22 days across three different competitions.
"It's never nice when players miss games, of course," said the boss. "Because the players here are very proud to play for their country and obviously Steven is the national team skipper.
"I know it's a huge honour for him. But when they go into the next games, they'll miss out and someone else will get the chance and then they'll be available for the next game."
Booked shortly after the second half got underway, Gerrard picked up another caution with just two minutes left on the clock and was sent off, a decision his club manager disagreed with.
"I thought he was very harshly treated," Rodgers continued. "I think everyone who watched the game will tell you there were so many yellow cards, it just didn't seem right.
"Certainly in terms of Steven's perspective, very unfortunate with the first one, he's on his way down and he's jumped and you've got to jump with your arms.
"And the second one, if you actually watch it he gets a nick on the ball, he's stretching through the guy's legs, he's got a touch on it. So I thought his sending-off was very, very harsh having put so much into the game, but sometimes it goes against you."
Red card or not, Rodgers was impressed by his skipper's performances while on international duty, firstly in Moldova and then against Ukraine at Wembley.
"I thought he was outstanding over the course of the two games, even though he only played a half in the first game. I thought in the second game he was fantastic, the level and quality of his passing and his energy.
"Roy Hodgson obviously understands club management very, very well having been in it for a number of years.
"He was bright enough to understand that he had the chance to rest Steven for the second half and that gave him a good chance to be fresh for the Tuesday game. He'll be fit and flying, I've had a good chat since he's been back so he feels good."
Watching on from the sidelines at Wembley was Raheem Sterling, who was called up to the England squad by Hodgson at the age of 17 following his breakthrough into the first team at Anfield.
The boss was pleased for his young protégé, but warned that plenty more hard work lies ahead. "I got the call from Roy and he talked about calling him up and the reasons for it, which was purely simple," Rodgers explained.
"He feels that he is really one for the future for England, he wasn't one that was probably going to get any time on the field but it was going to be an opportunity for him to get a sense of what hopefully he can achieve in the next few years.
"He knows as much as anyone how hard he has to work to get near that level on a consistent basis, but the strides he has made very early on for a 17-year-old has been fantastic.
"It's just to keep it into perspective and focus on his development and hopefully in the years to come he can progress and become a very good player for England."