Liverpool FC's preparations for Birmingham suffer major blow after Dirk Kuyt injures shoulder

Published: 07 Sep 2010 - 07:00:00

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Dirk Kuyt 300 LIVERPOOL'S preparations for Sunday's trip to Birmingham City have suffered a major blow after Dirk Kuyt injured his shoulder on international duty The Holland frontman landed awkwardly after attempting a bicycle kick during a training session at the ADO Den Haag stadium yesterday and was sent to hospital for scans. Kuyt was immediately ruled out of their Euro 2012 qualifier with Finland tonight and sent back to Merseyside. The Reds will discover the extent of the damage when he is assessed by the club's medical staff at Melwood today. However, the initial diagnosis wasn't positive with Dutch boss Bert van Marwijk fearing Kuyt has damaged ligaments and will be out for 'a few weeks'. The 30-year-old, who scored in Holland's 5-0 thrashing of San Marino last Friday, looks certain to miss Sunday's game at St Andrew's. He also faces a race against time to be fit for next Thursday's opening Europa League group game at home to Steaua Bucharest and the league trip to Manchester United three days later. Van Marwijk said: 'He tries that manoeuvre a lot but this time it went wrong. 'He pulled some ligaments in his shoulder and maybe some are torn. 'I think he might be out for a few weeks.' Meanwhile, Mario Gomez has confirmed that Bayern Munich blocked his loan move to Liverpool before the transfer window shut last week.