Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has expressed the club's dismay at the 10-match ban handed to Luis Suarez for biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic on Sunday. "It is the severity of the ban that has hurt most," said Rodgers.

"That is something we are bitterly disappointed with - not so much the ban because everyone has seen it and Luis was very open and honest to know it was wrong.

"I can't help but look at it & feel that the punishment has been against the man rather than the incident," added Rodgers, who revealed the club will do everything they can to help the volatile striker.

"The player needs a bit of help," he added. "I asked Luis what he was thinking and he couldn't answer. There's that little wire in his brain that sometimes acts differently. That's what we're trying to help."

"We will look after our employee with the objective that something like this never happens again. He's still very much part of the Liverpool family and very much part of the future."

Rodgers also insisted he did not feel let down by Suarez, adding: "If we had half a dozen more players like him this football club would be in a different position."