Graphic: the crock squad

Ian Rush says Fabio Capello should have trusted Liverpool's assessment of Steven Gerrard's injury, after the England manager insisted the midfielder make a six-hour round trip to prove that he was not fit enough to play for his country in the friendly match against Germany.

Gerrard, who is one of seven first-choice players who have pulled out of the match in Berlin, withdrew from the squad on Sunday night after suffering a groin injury in the 2-0 victory at Bolton Wanderers 24 hours earlier. However, Capello demanded that the Liverpool captain report to the England team hotel in Hertfordshire to be assessed by the Football Association's medical staff.

Rush says the latest disagreement between club and country has highlighted how damaged the relationship has become.

"The fact that Fabio Capello has ordered Steven Gerrard to prove that he is injured shows just how badly trust has broken down between club and country," Rush said. "Under Fifa laws, England have the right to have Gerrard assessed by their own medical experts but surely it would have been better for everyone if Capello had taken Liverpool at their word and left him on Merseyside for treatment?

"No-one can possibly argue that forcing a player to travel 200 miles by car or rail is the best thing for a player with a groin injury, especially with footballers being such finely tuned athletes who need the right level of care to ensure they are as fit as they can possibly be.

"I’d imagine Liverpool must have sent the FA the results of Steven’s scan so the best thing from that point would have been for Capello to accept the verdict of his club and deal with the problem positively by working with potential midfield replacements."

Rush added that Capello's demands could set a dangerous precedent which could have repercussions on the Premier League's top foreign players.

"The most worrying element of all this is that had it been one of Liverpool’s foreign players they could have been forced to travel to a country abroad just to prove that they really are injured," he said.

"I can understand why Fifa have given this power to national teams because there have been a number of occasions in the past when clubs have abused the system by pulling players out of international duty when they might have been fit to play.

"But the best solution would be for clubs and football associations to work more closely so that trust is built up again.That would stop players like Steven Gerrard becoming innocent victims simply because the trust is not there."