Liverpool fear big injury blow ahead of crucial Arsenal game

Liverpool are sweating on the fitness of their skipper Jordan Henderson for the crucial showdown with Arsenal.

The England midfielder was forced to undergo a scan this afternoon on a troubling foot injury that saw him limp out of the win over Bournemouth on Monday night after just 51 minutes.

And with boss Brendan Rodgers revealing his captain was simply in too much pain to continue, he is now a major doubt for the early season test of the Reds' top four credentials at the Emirates next Monday night.

Anfield medics will get the results of this afternoon's scan tomorrow, and while they are confident he hasn't broken the metatarsal, there is a lingering problem which could require rest.

That would be a huge blow for Rodgers, who has seen his captain quickly form an effective partnership with new signing James Milner in the centre of midfield.

Liverpool would be desperate for Henderson to lead them in such a huge game as Arsenal, but Rodgers revealed even though the 25-year-old had painkillers to play against Bournemouth, the problem has got worse.

“He had a problem with the bottom of his foot - he hadn’t trained for part of the week,” the manager explained.

“He was taking some painkillers with it, and did ever so well to even be out on the field. He wanted to give it a go, but you could see he was limited in his running.

“He did great for us when he was on the pitch, but it’s important we have fit players on the field, and unfortunately he was just in too much pain.”

Liverpool haven't won at the Emirates since 2011, but after maintaining a 100 per cent record in their opening two games, are keen to maintain the momentum with an important away result.