World Cup fever keeps Gerrard engine ticking over

Steven Gerrard, seen here in December 2005, is not about to admit to the slightest trace of fatigue despite the fact that he has played in 44 exhausting matches this season.

Steven Gerrard's season started seven and a half months ago but, 44 exhausting matches later, he is not about to admit to the slightest trace of fatigue.

Rarely can a player have diplayed the symptoms of World Cup fever as clearly as the Liverpool midfielder on the eve of England's friendly against Uruguay, the final international before Sven-Goran Eriksson names his squad for Germany.

And in Gerrard's case, the condition appears to have been aggravated by the fact that he missed out on the last finals, in Japan and South Korea.

Gently rebuffing a suggestion from his club manager, Rafael Benitez, that he could do with a rest this week, Gerrard insisted: "I've missed enough football in my career so I want to play as many games as I can."

"I can understand where Rafa (Benitez) is coming from," he said. "We've got a massive game against Charlton at the weekend and an even bigger game against Benfica in the Champions League next week."

If Liverpool repeat last season's run to the final of the Champions League, Gerrard could find himself playing well in excess of 60 matches and an England appearance in the final in Germany would make it a 12-month campaign for the Liverpool midfielder.

But he is confident that the adrenalin released by appearing in Germany will prevent his well-tuned engine from seizing up mid-tournament.

"It is a daunting schedule. Playing football for 12 months is a long time but I won't be complaining if I'm in the World Cup final.

"To be honest, I feel really fresh. I'm in good condition and I look after myself. I only think about tiredness and burn-out when people ask me about it."

Gerrard admitted he had an extra incentive to do well in Germany having missed out on the last World Cup because of groin surgery then failed to live up to his pre-tournament billing at Euro 2004.

"That (the 2002 World Cup) was one of the lowest points of my career," he said.

"It is hard enough when you are injured for your club but to sit at home bandaged up for five or six weeks and watch the internationals, seeing all the support they had and all the build-up is tough.

"I agree my form has not always been what I wanted for England but I've played well in certain games. I'm confident given the right stage and the players around me of doing really well in this World Cup."