Gerrard came off the bench to inspire Liverpool to a 3-1 win over Napoli in the Europa League on Thursday with a 15-minute hat-trick.
Hodgson admitted he would have preferred to have kept his captain on the bench but hopes the 45-minute run-out will have been just enough to keep the 30-year-old ticking over ahead of the visit of Premier League leaders Chelsea
"I'm hoping he hasn't taken too much out of himself before Sunday, because we are going to need him to do that for the whole of the game against Chelsea," said Hodgson.
Hodgson was able to rest striker Fernando Torres against Napoli and he believes the Spaniard is slowly getting back to his best.
"Fernando is working hard in training and he's looking more like his old self," added Hodgson.
"It's a pleasure to have a player of that quality to work with."
Hodgson also called on the rest of the squad to stand up and be counted after being impressed by the recent impact of Maxi Rodriguez and Sotirios Kyrgiakos.
"Steven and Fernando are two wonderful quality players, but we can't just rely on Fernando and Steven in every game because if ever one or two of them has a slightly lesser game we need to show we will not throw the towel in," continued Hodgson.
"We've got to have a few people nailing their colours to the mast and making certain they step up and make sure we are a good team.
"Maxi Rodriguez is a good example of this with his goal against Bolton last week.
"He is someone who has come into the team and done extremely well.
"Sotirios Kyrgiakos is another. He didn't play much last season but he is now playing very well for us."
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