Steven
Gerrard does not know whether Luis Suarez will be available for the
World Cup and nor does he care, with the England captain confident of
beating Uruguay with or without his Liverpool team-mate leading the
line.
The
images of the 27-year-old being carted around in a wheelchair after
undergoing keyhole surgery on his knee last week have inevitably led to
questions over his participation in Brazil this summer.
Uruguay's
team doctor remains cautiously optimistic about Suarez making the
tournament, while Liverpool team-mates Jordan Henderson and Glen Johnson
have done some investigative work as to the severity of the injury.
Ready for duty: England manager Roy Hodgson and Steven Gerrard speak ahead of Friday's friendly
All smiles: Hodgson was in good spirits ahead of England's friendly with Peru
Both
players have text the striker to see whether he will be fit for the
Group D clash on June 19, although Gerrard has no such concerns about
the in-form Liverpool striker.
'I don't know whether he is going to be available,' the England captain said.
'I think the only people that know whether he is going to be available is Luis himself and the physio and doctors in their team.
'For
me, it is not very important, it is something we can't control and is
not my main focus. My main focus is to make sure all the England players
are fit and available to play.
'Going into that game we're very confident that we can get the right result whether Luis is available or not.'
Honour: Hodgson was pleased to meet British Prime Minister David Cameron at training
England
take on Uruguay in their second Group D match in Sao Paulo, five days
after kicking-off their campaign against Italy in Manaus, deep in the
heart of the Amazon.
The
Three Lions have three friendly matches in preparation for the
tournament, taking on Ecuador and Honduras in Miami after their only
match on homesoil against Peru on Friday.
A
morale-boosting victory looks likely against the South Americans,
ranked 42nd in the world, and Gerrard knows the importance of fuelling
the positivity Prime Minister David Cameron mentioned on his visit to St
George's Park on the eve of the game.
'It was good,' Gerrard said of his visit. 'He came in, he was very positive.
Keeping cool: Hodgson spoke of his pride at managing England at a World Cup
'He wished us all the best and said he was really proud of us and that the country are all excited and behind us.
'Now
it is down to us to put in some good performances to make sure that
support continues and hopefully we can make the Prime Minister and
everybody in the country proud.
Gerrard and his Liverpool team-mates will likely have a major say on whether England succeed in Brazil this summer.
Club class: Gerrard was pleased that people were talking about Liverpool players in a positive light
The
Three Lions skipper is joined by four others Reds in the 23-man squad
after a fine season in which the swashbuckling style of Brendan Rodgers'
side has impressed onlookers, including Paul Scholes.
The
former Manchester United and England midfielder believes Roy Hodgson's
side must adopt Liverpool's style and that the Reds quintet should start
against Italy.
'That makes me feel really proud, being a Liverpool man myself,' Gerrard said.
No worries: Gerrard is not worried about Luis Suarez's fitness
'Paul
Scholes knows his football and for him to say he was really happy to
watch Liverpool play that way is really good for me and the rest of the
Liverpool players.
'But
we're England now and we're going to play the England way, which is
whatever Roy Hodgson, Gary Neville and Ray Lewington want us to do.
'The players will carry out the instructions given by them.'Gerrard does expecting team-mate Henderson to play a big part at the World Cup after having an impressive season for Liverpool this season.
He added: 'He’s improved his all-round game. His passing in final third has improved and he’s added quality goals. It wouldn’t surprise me if he had a big impact on the World Cup.'
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