Brendan Rodgers: 'Joe Cole's injury not serious'

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has insisted that Joe Cole's hamstring injury will not keep the midfielder sidelined, despite initial concerns.

The 30-year-old, who spent a season-long loan at Lille last season, suffered the blow in the first half of the Reds' first-leg 1-0 win over FC Gomel in the Europa League last night.

"Joe just felt his hamstring a little bit," ESPN quotes Rodgers as saying. "I don't think it is totally pulled and it was just a little bit of tightness so we had to take him off.

"It disrupted our plans a little bit but it was better to have him come off rather than risk injury."

Stewart Downing, who failed to score one goal in the Premier League last season, netted the winner for the Merseyside outfit.