Liverpool hero Jan Molby says Lucas Leiva's knee injury is a big blow.

Lucas has been ruled out for the season.

And Molby wrote in his column for the Liverpool Echo: "In all my time I've never known a Liverpool player who had endured such a difficult start to his career at Anfield yet enjoy a turnaround in his fortunes and recover.

"You could always see that there was a good player there with Lucas but it must have been a very difficult transition for him coming from Brazil and he was very young when he first arrived.

"Personally, I thought that he might have to develop elsewhere to prove his worth in a similar vein that Diego Forlan did when he moved to Spain after failing to impress at Manchester United.

"I remember how difficult it was for me when I first came to Anfield from Ajax to replace Graeme Souness in the Liverpool midfield.

"I don't look back on my first season with the Reds with any great pride. I just got through the games and gained experience but produced nothing spectacular.

"You need time in these situations but don't always get it.

"To be fair to Lucas he stuck at it and the manager has stuck with him and they've both been rewarded."