The Wales international will undergo surgery on his problematic shoulder after suffering a recurrence of the injury in October

Liverpool midfielder Joe Allen has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury.

The Wales international suffered a recurrence of his troublesome shoulder injury in October, while the club have confirmed he will now undergo surgery on Thursday.

Liverpool’s first-team doctor Zaf Iqbal told the club’s website: “Joe Allen is due to have a left shoulder operation tomorrow morning in Liverpool and will be ready to return to football at the beginning of next season.”

The 23-year-old was brought off by Brendan Rodgers at half-time in the 3-1 defeat to Southampton on Saturday and subsequently withdrew from Wales’ squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifying double-header against Scotland and Croatia.

Liverpool have confirmed that Allen will be available for the start of next season.

The 35-year-old admits he is dismayed at the way his former team-mate’s career has fizzled out, insisting his formidable talent in the penalty area is too easily forgotten

Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has hailed Michael Owen as a “supreme goalscorer” after the Stoke striker announced he is set to retire at the end of the season.

Owen played alongside Carragher from 1997 to 2004 at Anfield, scoring 158 goals in 297 appearances in all competitions and winning the FA Cup, League Cup and Uefa Cup with the Reds.

And Carragher, who is also set to hang up his boots this summer, believes his former team-mate’s talent is not fully appreciated by English football fans.

“It still annoys me that people forget what a top player he was,” the 35-year-old wrote in his column in the Daily Mail.

“Michael had this unshakable belief that he was the best and wasn’t bothered about trying to usurp Robbie Fowler and Stan Collymore to get into Liverpool’s starting line-up.

“The best strikers are single-minded and I saw at first hand how he was able to put disappointments to one side and bounce back when it really mattered.

“He used to take knocks in his career but he always came back with an answer.”

Owen has made just seven appearances for Stoke this season, and Carragher admits it is not the sort of glorious farewell a player of such pedigree deserves.

“Maybe he should have made this decision a couple of years ago or taken the chance to play in America or the Middle East,” the Liverpool defender added.

“Something doesn’t seem right about him potentially bringing the curtain down on his career sitting on the bench when Stoke play Southampton.

“But that won’t diminish my memories or opinion of him.

“He was a supreme goalscorer, capable of glorious moments, and the goal he swept past David Seaman in the Millennium Stadium in that 2001 final provided my finest Liverpool moment until Istanbul.

“For good reason it will be remembered as the ‘Owen Final’.”

Luis Suarez may be ahead at the top of the Premier League top scorer charts, but Al Hain-Cole thinks that last year’s leading marksman is unlikely to give in without a fight

While his controversial reputation may hamper Luis Suarez’s chances of winning any Player of the Year awards this season, the Golden Boot is completely in his own hands.

The Liverpool striker has simply exploded this term, making the question marks that were previously raised over his finishing ability look slightly ridiculous.

With 22 goals to his name, the Uruguayan maestro is currently three clear at the top of the goal-scoring charts, making him the big favourite at 4/9 (1.44) with Coral to finish the season top of the pile.

Next in the list is last year’s leading marksman Robin van Persie, who has fallen behind due to a run of just one goal in his last six league games.

Nevertheless, the Netherlands international had fired in 11 goals in just 10 matches prior to that relative dry patch, and is more than capable of hitting that type of form yet again to make up for lost ground on Suarez.

With no Champions League distractions to worry about, Sir Alex Ferguson is less likely to rest the former Arsenal man from now until the end of the season, and with nine games still to play, it could be worth having a bet on some generous 9/4 (3.25) odds for Van Persie to overhaul his Liverpool counterpart.

Along with that pair, Gareth Bale is generally seen as the other standout performer this season, and his recent goal-scoring exploits make him a strong contender for personal awards in May.

However, the Spurs man’s albeit impressive return of 16 goals leaves him six short of Suarez, and that deficit seems just too great for a player that does not play up front to overturn, hence the 20/1 (21.00) odds on him finishing as top scorer.

In fact, while he trails Bale by one goal, Demba Ba’s position at the spearhead of the Chelsea attack makes him a slightly shorter price at 16/1 (17.00) to come out on top, although a return of one goal in his last 10 appearances does not inspire confidence.

Surprise package Michu also has 15 goals to his name, but seems to be winding down for the season along with his Swansea team-mates following their Capital One Cup victory, and is a serious long shot at 33/1 (34.00).

Sign up with Coral for a free bet worth up to £50

Al Hain-Cole is a Liverpool fan, experienced tipster and avid follower of European football. He specialises in accumulators and if you would like to read more from Al you can follow him on Twitter here.

Follow GoalBetting on