LONDON, Dec 29: Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard was arrested early on Monday in connection with an alleged assault at a bar that left a man hospitalised with facial injuries.

Police detained the England midfielder at 2:30am (0230 GMT) in Southport along with five other men after the brawl and remained in police custody, a person close to the investigation said on condition of anonymity. British police do not publicly name suspects unless charges are brought.

In the fracas outside the Lounge Inn, the bar’s 34-year-old disc jockey sustained cuts to his forehead and a broken tooth but was later released from the hospital, another police official said.

Officers only began interviewing the suspects on Monday afternoon and expected the questioning to continue until late in the evening. Gerrard’s wife Alex Curran was seen near the police station where the 28-year-old player is being held, but drove off without answering reporters’ questions.

Spots of blood and shards of broken glass were visible on the floor of the Lounge Inn, which was closed on Monday.

The other men held are not believed to be footballers, but are from the Huyton area of Liverpool, where Gerrard was brought up.—AP