Steven Gerrard, the Liverpool midfielder, has failed to overcome the groin injury that kept him out of England's friendly with Germany and will miss the visit of Fulham to Anfield tomorrow.

Gerrard's decision to withdraw from Wednesday's friendly match caused controversy during the week as Fabio Capello insisted he make a six-hour round trip to prove that he was not fit enough to play for his country.

Gerrard was one of seven first-choice players who pulled out of the match in Berlin, but Capello was particularly irked by Liverpool's announcement on Sunday that their captain would miss the match, having suffered a groin injury during their 2-0 victory away to Bolton Wanderers 24 hours earlier.

Capello demanded the Liverpool captain report to the England team hotel in Hertfordshire to be assessed by the Football Association's medical staff. The FA quickly confirmed Liverpool's diagnosis of a torn adductor muscle.

Gerrard trained on his own at Melwood today and is considered doubtful for Wednesday's Champions League match with Marseille.