Steven Gerrard's international misfortunes intensified last night when he was ruled out of England's opening World Cup qualifiers with a groin injury.

The Liverpool captain will today undergo exploratory surgery in an attempt to solve a persistent problem that has hindered his fitness since pre-season, and will miss at least a fortnight - and England's games away against Andorra and Croatia next month - as a consequence.

Gerrard played the full 120 minutes of Liverpool's gruelling and slender Champions League qualifying victory over Standard Liège at Anfield last night, but was clearly in discomfort long before Dirk Kuyt scored the contest's only goal in the 118th minute.

"The disappointing thing for us is that Gerrard will have to have a groin operation in the morning," said a relieved Liverpool manager, Rafael Benitez. "He will be out for around 10 to 15 days. He needs to have the operation because he has been in a lot of pain. We knew he had this problem before he went on international duty with England last week [for the friendly against the Czech Republic] but yesterday I spoke with the club doctor and with Steven and he agreed he needed the operation."

The timing of the surgery is a major setback for Fabio Capello's attempts to lift England following the Czech Republic stalemate and particularly for the trip to Zagreb on September 10. For Gerrard, having been played out of position at Wembley, the chance to improve on his international form has gone too.

Benìtez added: "It is not a serious injury. Ten to 15 days is not long but he needs it."

Gerrard's recovery period means he will also miss Liverpool's visit to Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday and, given the additional recovery time required, Manchester United's visit to Anfield on September 13.

Gerrard was left on the bench for the majority of Liverpool's first leg against the Belgian champions having aggravated the problem in a pre-season friendly against the Norwegian side Valerenga.