The Brazil international sustained the injury in the Carling Cup quarter-final victory over Chelsea in midweek and it was confirmed he would play no further part this campaign. The 24-year-old has been one of the Reds' best players over the last two seasons and impressed in the last fortnight against Chelsea twice and Manchester City. Lucas has been taken aback by the support he has been given and this evening expressed his gratitude. He told Liverpoolfc.tv: "I didn't realise what an impact my injury could make on the fans. "A lot of people have been sending me positive messages, and this makes me feel stronger. "I know at the moment I haven't had time to think too much about the injury and I am just trying to get everything ready for the operation, but I know when I have difficult times during my rehab one of the things that I will remember will be the messages. "I want to say thank you very much for all the messages the fans have sent me on the website and on my Twitter page too. I have read a lot of them and all of them have been very positive. They have given me more confidence to come back strongly." Lucas has been inundated with messages from fans and both former and current Reds players on his Twitter pages, as well as from Chelsea forward Juan Mata. Lucas added: "I have worked hard to get people to believe in me and my football - and I can see the fans appreciate the work I have done. "Even in difficult times, I have put my head down and worked really hard to achieve things and try to be an important player for the club. "I want to say many thanks to the fans. There are no words I can say to express how much I appreciate all of the messages and positive thinking all of them are sending to me. "When I come back on to the pitch, I will repay everything they are doing at the moment for me and keep wearing the shirt with pride. "They are really important for me because it will be a difficult time and it will be important to have the messages I have received." Lucas' absence presents a poser for manager Kenny Dalglish, who said: "It is a huge disappointment for everybody but more importantly for Lucas. "He's had the scan and we will assess it and decide where is the best place he has to go and where he is more comfortable and they'll do what they have to do. "We have a great deal of sympathy for Lucas. He's been playing well for us but it is part and parcel of football I suppose. "We're not the only club who has an injury which means we have to fulfil our obligations by using the squad. "He has been playing really well. We are disappointed he has picked up an injury but it is not career-threatening. "Lucas is not moping about feeling sorry for himself. We can do that, we can feel sorry for him. "But we cannot feel sorry for ourselves and we have plenty of people who can have a go and won't let us down. "You saw at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night there were a lot of really good performances. "It is at times like this you are tested but we have been happy with the squad and the results we have had reflect that." Dalglish's immediate problem is to replace Lucas in midfield for Monday's match at Fulham after he had forged a successful central midfield partnership with summer signing Charlie Adam. The two were paired together for 12 of Liverpool's 13 Barclays Premier League matches this season and were only broken up by a one-match suspension to Lucas. On that occasion, the 1-1 draw at home to Norwich on October 22, Steven Gerrard filled a more orthodox midfield role - having made his first start of the season the previous week against Manchester United. Unfortunately for the Reds it was the last time they saw their captain on the field as an ankle infection has sidelined him since and he will not be ready to return at Fulham. "Stevie is still progressing really well - without putting a date on his comeback - but we have to manage it," said the Scot. Jay Spearing deputised for Gerrard when he was injured at the end of last season while Jordan Henderson is comfortable in central midfield and Dalglish has also recalled Jonjo Shelvey from Blackpool. "We are not going to start dancing on someone's grave; at the end of the day the boy is injured but we have adequate replacements there," said the Reds boss, who ruled out a recall for Alberto Aquilani, on loan at AC Milan. "Jay has done really well since I came in here and we do trust him. "We believe in him and we will stand by them (the players) as long as they go out there and give what they have to give."
