The midfielder had to drop out of England's World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Croatia as he's currently recovering from a double groin operation.

"I don't want to go into a big game only having had one training session with the boys. I've spoken to the manager and told him I'd like to do a certain amount of training before I come back," Gerrard told the Liverpool Daily Post on Monday.

Gerrard defended his decision to undergo the operation after its timing was heavily criticized due to the contradiction with England's qualifiers.

"The decision about surgery was taken after our game against Standard Liege. I had a meeting with the club doctor and said the discomfort was getting to the stage where I couldn't continue."

"I had to double, then treble, my dose of painkillers to train and play, I also had to take them during games. You get to the stage where you can't grind it out any longer," added Gerrard.

After their hard fought win of Belgium's Standard Liege in the UEFA Champions League first round, Liverpool will be hoping to have Gerrard fit for the group opener against Marseille on September 16th.