Liverpool's Garcia out injured for rest of season

LONDON, Jan 10 (Reuters) Liverpool midfielder Luis Garcia has been sidelined for the rest of the season with a knee injury.

''Unfortunately we expect to be without Luis for six months,'' club spokesman Ian Cotton said on Liverpool's Web site (www.liverpoolfc.tv) today.

The Spaniard was carried off on a stretcher during yesterday's 6-3 Carling Cup defeat to Arsenal and a scan confirmed he has ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

Chilean midfielder Mark Gonzalez also faces up to three weeks on the sidelines with the shin injury he sustained in the match.

An X-ray after the game confirmed there was no fracture but a scan today revealed severe soft tissue bruising and bruising to the bone of his right shin, the Web site said.

Reuters BDP RN2215