Liverpool’s Joe Allen could be the key to prolonging Steven Gerrard's career

Joe Allen (L)

With Steven Gerrard ruled out of England’s friendly against Chile on Friday night and potentially a doubt for the clash with Germany on Tuesday, Liverpool fans will have breathed a sigh of relief.

The Reds captain’s fitness has been teetering precariously on the edge, a combination of the ravages of age and a succession of injuries meaning that Gerrard is never far away from being ruled out for months at a time.

This season especially has introduced a sense of mortality to Gerrard’s aura, a suggestion that the midfielder can no longer keep up his high standards week in, week out.

There’s always been a hint of such weakness over the past few seasons, but every time the issue was raised Gerrard would dismiss such absurd notions with a barnstorming performance against whichever unfortunate team he would face that week.

That was the case once more against Fulham at the weekend, but such performances are becoming far and few in between nowadays.

Former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez recognised the warning signs with Frank Lampard last season, and managed him effectively by reducing his game time.

Brendan Rodgers must do the same for Gerrard, by whittling his time on the pitch slowly but surely, prolonging his usefulness to the cause much like Sir Alex Ferguson has done with Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes.

And in Joe Allen, Rodgers has the perfect rotation partner.

The Welshman has expressed his frustration recently at the lack of first-team opportunities and, with Gerrard fading, perhaps this is the right time to reintegrate Allen back into the side.

Allen was superb in the opening stages of last season, deputising for the absent Gerrard with aplomb and providing an assured presence in a new regime under Rodgers.

A shoulder injury would soon cost him his place in the side, but now that he is fully recovered, there is no reason why the Wales international cannot reprise his role whenever Gerrard needs a rest.

Gerrard has at most one or two years left as a first-team regular at the top level, which means Rodgers needs to start preparing for life without the Liverpool icon.

Reintroducing Allen would be an excellent first step in future-proofing Liverpool’s midfield.