Kenny Dalglish wary of England recall for Steven Gerrard



Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish hopes Steven Gerrard is not rushed back into England duty after making his club return against Brighton on Wednesday.

Gerrard had been out for six months with a groin problem and Dalglish says his comeback must be carefully managed.

England's next game is a Euro 2012 qualifier with Montenegro on 7 October.

When asked if it would be a risk for England to call up Gerrard, Dalglish said: "I just hope they are as intelligent as we have been."

Gerrard, who has won 89 caps for his country, has missed England's last six games - including four qualifiers - since his last international appearance, a 2-1 friendly defeat by France in November 2010.

England are still unbeaten and top of Group G, and will secure their place in the finals if they pick up a point against Montenegro in Podgorica.

Dalglish added: "I don't pick England's team. Whatever they have to do, they have to do."

We will just continue in the intelligent manner that we have done. We can look forward to him getting even fitter. There will be no timescale or programme, we'll just take it as it comes

Gerrard, 31, played 16 minutes of Liverpool's 2-1 Carling Cup win over the Seagulls after six months out with a groin injury that required surgery.

And Dalglish stressed that the Reds' captain's recovery and rehabilitation is not something that will be rushed, even now he has returned to first-team action.

"He's done fantastic coming back and it's fantastic for the whole club that he is back but the most important person in all of it is Steven himself.

"He's missed an awful lot of football through injury so he's done brilliant to get where he is.

"We will just continue in the intelligent manner that we have done. We can look forward to him getting even fitter. There will be no timescale or programme, we'll just take it as it comes.

"He's the captain and the talisman of the football club and he's just played around 20 minutes for us. Steven coming back certainly makes our squad a whole lot stronger.

"For us it's a real, real addition to the squad. To get your talisman back on the right road is, selfishly, great for us but more importantly is great for Steven."