Liverpool's Lucas ruled out for season

 　　LONDON, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva has been ruled out of the rest of the season with a knee injury, English website sportinglife.com said.

　　The Brazil international was carried off on a stretcher in the second half of the Reds' 2-0 League Cup quarter-final win at Chelsea on Tuesday.

　　Manager Kenny Dalglish's worst fears were confirmed after a scan revealed damage to the anterior¹ cruciate ligament in the player's left knee.

　　"The Brazil international will undergo surgery and unfortunately be ruled out for the remainder of the current campaign," said a statement from the club.

　　News of Lucas' injury is a crushing blow to Dalglish and the rest of the team as the 24-year-old has been one of Liverpool's best players over the last two seasons.

　　In the last fortnight, in particular, the Brazilian has shown his worth with impressive performances against Chelsea in both the Barclays Premier² League and Carling Cup victories and also in the 1-1 draw at home to Manchester City on Sunday.

　　He has forged a successful central midfield partnership³ with summer signing Charlie Adam, under-taking the defensive⁴ anchor role to allow the Scotland international to play a more expansive game.

　　Liverpool obviously feared the worst after an initial assessment⁵ on Lucas following his clash with Chelsea's Juan Mata as yesterday they recalled midfielder Jonjo Shelvey from his loan spell at npower Championship side Blackpool.

　　Dalglish still has plenty of options in midfield with Jay Spearing having the attributes most similar to Lucas in terms of defensive duties.

　　Another summer signing Jordan Henderson could well move back inside, having spent most of his short Reds career struggling out on the right, and while Shelvey has been in great form for the Seasiders, scoring six times in 10 matches, he is likely to be a back-up.

　　The ideal scenario⁶ for Dalglish would be a swift return for captain Steven Gerrard.

　　He has made just five appearances this season, having had a delayed start after recovering from a groin operation in April, and has not played since October 22 because of an ankle infection.

1 anterior   

adj.较早的；在前的

参考例句：

• We've already finished the work anterior to the schedule.我们已经提前完成了工作。
• The anterior part of a fish contains the head and gills.鱼的前部包括头和鳃。

2 premier   

adj.首要的；n.总理，首相

参考例句：

• The Irish Premier is paying an official visit to Britain.爱尔兰总理正在对英国进行正式访问。
• He requested that the premier grant him an internview.他要求那位总理接见他一次。

3 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

4 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

5 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

6 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。