Source: Telegraph
Liverpool lose Philipp Degen red card appeal as side prepare for Lyon contest
The Swiss international, currently the club's only fit right-back, will serve a three-match ban, ruling him out of crucial Premier League games with Birmingham, Manchester City and Everton. [LNB]A statement released by the FA said: 'At a Regulatory Commission hearing, a claim for wrongful dismissal by Liverpool defender Philipp Degen was rejected. Degen was sent off for serious foul play during Liverpool's Premier League match with Fulham on Saturday October 31. Degen's three-match suspension begins with immediate effect.' [LNB] Related ArticlesBenitez to 'walk through storm'Gerrard: Liverpool miss AlonsoThe Daily Bung: Rafa won't be scared of Lyon's denDirk Kuyt on revenge missionRafa Benítez lacks striking optionsFive seasons on the brinkJamie Carragher, too, will miss the game with Birmingham on Monday after his sending off at Craven Cottage, though as the Liverpool vice-captain was guilty of a last-man offence, he will serve just a one-match suspension. [LNB]The news will come as a further blow to Benitez, who has seen his squad decimated by the loss of 14 players to injury and illness after a virus swept through Liverpool's camp. [LNB]His side to face Lyon in the Champions League tonight, a game Liverpool must win to stand any real chance of qualifying for the knockout stages, is likely to be without as many as seven first-team players, while Daniel Agger, Alberto Aquilani and Fernando Torres are far from full fitness. [LNB]'We were talking about having four centre-backs at the start of the season and then three had problems at the same time,' said Benitez. 'But it's not just the injuries, it's the positions of the players that have been injured. [LNB]'With the injuries and the virus too, it has not been easy. Maybe we have never had this many players missing at the same time. But we have to look at the bigger picture and we know that once we have all these players back, it will be different. It can all change in a few days or a few weeks.' [LNB]Such trying circumstances, though, have helped draw Liverpool's remaining players closer together as they look to end a run of six defeats in seven games, the club's worst run of form for 22 years, according to Dirk Kuyt. [LNB]'What has happened recently has drawn us together,' said the Dutch international. 'This is a time when we as a team, the players, the coaches, the physios, everyone has to work really hard to get good results. [LNB]'We showed that against Manchester United but unfortunately it didn't happen against Fulham. We have the confidence we can give the same performance we did against United to have a good result tonight.'[LNB]
