Reds hope Adam's season not over

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish is hopeful midfielder Charlie Adam could play again before the end of the season.

The Scotland international strained knee ligaments in last Wednesday's Barclays Premier League defeat at QPR and missed the loss to Wigan on Saturday. The club are still to learn the full extent of the damage but are hoping the 26-year-old will not need surgery.

Dalglish said in the Liverpool Echo: "We know Charlie has strained knee ligaments but we still don't know how long he will be out."

He continued: "He hasn't had an operation and as it stands he's not having one.

"It's only been a week since he did it. He needs to rest it for another 10 days or so and then he will be reassessed.

"We'll see how he is then and we'll be in a better position to know when he will be back playing.

"We haven't ruled him out for the rest of the season. We're just waiting to see how he progresses."

Adam is one of a number of injury problems affecting the Reds as they contend with a slump in form.

Craig Bellamy (calf), Glen Johnson (calf), Daniel Agger (rib) and Martin Kelly (ankle) have also been on the sidelines.

Liverpool travel to Newcastle on Sunday hoping to arrest a run that has seen them lose five of their past six league games.