Liverpool are weighing up gambling with Jamie Carragher's shoulder injury.

The Daily Mail says Liverpool will decide today whether to gamble on Carragher's fitness or send him for surgery that will rule him out for three months.

The influential defender dislocated his left shoulder in the closing stages of Sunday's 2-1 Barclays Premier League defeat at Tottenham Hotspur.

He underwent a scan at Liverpool's Melwood training ground on Monday morning before seeing a surgeon at Spire Liverpool Hospital, a centre specialising in sports injuries.

Carragher was advised surgery would be the most effective way of curing the problem but he is clinging to the hope an operation can be avoided, which would halve recovery time.

Liverpool play Manchester United, in the FA Cup third round, and Everton on consecutive weekends in January and Carragher is desperate to be involved.