STEVEN Gerrard drew a line under his injury-plagued past last night as he looked forward to a fresh start for England and Liverpool.

Gerrard spent the summer as a glorified cheerleader, urging on his sometime international teammates from the comfort of his armchair and then from a luxury resort in Dubai.

But having undergone groin surgery to cure the long-standing injury that precluded his inclusion in the World Cup squad, the midfielder is desperate to make up for lost time.

His inability to stay fit has prevented him from winning more than ten caps since making his England debut against Ukraine in May 2000.

But having come through Liverpool's first four Premiership games of the season unscathed, 22-year-old Gerrard believes he has banished the injury curse.

He said: "My groin feels perfect now and I feel a new player. I feel fresh and sharper than before, and for me this friendly against Portugal is as big as a World Cup game.

"Last season, I was having to go into games without having done any training since the last match and knowing I wouldn't finish the 90 minutes. I wasn't going into games in the right frame of mind and so I wasn't getting the best out of myself.

"My groin wasn't in a condition where I would have been able to play three group games in ten days.

"But now I'm recovering a lot better from games. That means I'll be fit for game after game now; I've proved that so far this season for Liverpool."

Gerrard's position in the centre of the England midfield was taken at the World Cup by Nicky Butt, and the Liverpool man is full of admiration for the Manchester United man.

"Nicky was fantastic in all the games. It's flattering that people have said I might have made a difference to the England team but it's all ifs and buts," said Gerrard.