Rafa's update on 10 injured players

Rafa's update on 10 injured players

Rafa Benitez is hopeful of having summer signing Alberto Aquilani available for selection in Wednesday's crunch Champions League clash with Lyon.

The Italy international is recovering well from a virus which kept him out of Saturday's 3-1 defeat to Fulham.
 
His return to the squad would be a boost for Benitez, who will definitely be without Steven Gerrard (groin), Albert Riera (hamstring), Martin Kelly (ankle) and Martin Skrtel (muscle) for the Group E encounter.
 
"Aquilani had a virus. He trained today but was a little bit weak. Hopefully in two days' time he will be better," said Benitez.
 
"Gerrard won't travel to Lyon. He has no chance. He is improving but we have to wait. He has had an injection but we have to wait two or three days and see how he reacts.
 
"Skrtel has no chance. He has a small muscle problem. It's not too big but he is feeling something."
 
Meanwhile, the Liverpool manager will make late fitness calls on the recovering Daniel Agger (back), Glen Johnson (calf), Fabio Aurelio (calf) and David Ngog (ankle), none of whom travelled to Craven Cottage.
 
Benitez said: "Agger is improving - he will travel and we will then decide. He felt something in his back but it's much better now. We have to wait and see how he reacts.
 
"Fabio is improving but he still has a small problem in his calf, so we will have to wait.
 
"Ngog is much better, so he could be available.
 
"Johnson is training and working with the physios but he is a doubt at this moment. He will travel to Lyon and we will see."
 
Elsewhere, much was made of Benitez's decision to substitute Fernando Torres after 63 minutes of the Fulham loss with the score 1-1.
 
However, the boss feared his star striker could sustain a more serious injury had he stayed on the field.
 
Torres has yet to reach full fitness following an adductor injury suffered on international duty last month.
 
"I was surprised with the critics after the game because Fernando has had problems in the last month after the international games," said Benitez.
 
"We are trying to manage because he was close to having an operation. Still this morning, two days after the game, he is feeling something.
 
"He is not comfortable. He has not got the power he had before, so we have to manage and try to protect him. He cannot play well if you keep pushing him. Maybe if you push him he will be injured for a long time.
 
"So, I am really surprised with the critics. When you talk about big names, people just analyse the names and not how the player is when he is on the pitch. He was not 100 per cent fit.
 
"We have to take Fernando to Lyon because we don't have too many options. We have to keep working with him and the rest of the players."

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N166301091102-1449.htm

That ends the swine flu myth then.

Shows our current plight when Late Fitness Tests will be done on the majority of our first team

"We have to take Fernando to Lyon because we don't have too many options. We have to keep working with him and the rest of the players."

That just doesn't sound promising at all.

Man I hope we win on Wednesday.

Agger's back again eh? Doesn't look like it's going to disappear. I think he's right to consider his future, as I know first hand (from my Mum) what having a bad back can be like. I'd hate to see him throw the towel in, but ultimately it's about him.

Johnson sounds like he'll make it, but I'm surprised Gerrard is out for so long. Can't wait to see him back.

Torres will have to start, but probably won't finish.

Gonna be a tough one this game, because even those who make it won't have played, and this is top class stuff, not 15 minutes for the reserves.

Get the picture Rafa bashers?

That ends the swine flu myth then.

The one I got a neg for questioning?  Surely not!  :

Agger's back again eh? Doesn't look like it's going to disappear. I think he's right to consider his future, as I know first hand (from my Mum) what having a bad back can be like. I'd hate to see him throw the towel in, but ultimately it's about him.

Well if he's considering his future then he could not be selfish and let us sell him first

Get the picture Rafa bashers?

Yes.  And I think it cuts him a bit of slack as far as the piss-poor team he put out on Saturday.

But who bought that piss-poor squad?  Who decided that Babel was worth 11.5m?  Or that Voronin was fit to wear the shirt?

Wait!  It was the owners and Parry, wasn't it?  Or was it the media?  No, wait!  It was biased referees.  But it certainly wasn't Rafa - he was forced into spunking that money on sub-standard players.

The one I got a neg for questioning?  Surely not!  :

Little uncalled for who ever done that Shay, your only asking questions., Have a + from me I'm feeling positive

I hope to god we can put out a decent back 4 decent midfield with Aquilani and Masch at the centre of it, with Nando up top and then I'll be confident we'll get a result in Lyon

I'm surprised Gerrard is out for so long. Can't wait to see him back.

Those groin injuries are a pain in the arse to get rid of, you think you've got rid of it and then it comes right back just from doing something like kicking a ball.

Who decided that Babel was worth 11.5m?  Or that Voronin was fit to wear the shirt?

To be fair mate Babel showed in his first season he has the ability to be a good player, so I'd say that comes down to the players attitude and application other than Rafa.

Voronin he cost nothing and was worth a gamble no ?, a striker who was pretty much free scoring in Germany ?

Obviously the Gamble did not pay off with either player and in all honesty I do not think they'd have still been here this season had bids come in for them.

Shows our current plight when Late Fitness Tests will be done on the majority of our first team

I've a sneaky feeling that all will pass the "late fitness tests" tho'. 

It's reported in the Express that Rafa could be without up to 12 players on Wednesday at Lyon - the Mail also reports that "potential investors" are becoming concerned about the managers conduct in connection with the dip in form. So does that mean Rafa has been putting the voodoo on the squad that must be the solution if as they purport the manager is responsible for the dip in form.
On the other foot the downward spiral could be directly attributed to the missing numbers and evil magic from the manager is not to blame at all, am I glad I thought about that one just shows you shouldn't believe what you're supposed to.

Sounds like throllox to me stuey.

Sounds like throllox to me stuey.

As the recent throllox goes Dave that is up there with the best(or worst)

The injury there that concerns me must is Agger, his back is troubling him again and he is only just returned from injury, his long term future does appear bleak at the moment.

Glad to hear Aquilani could be fit for selection but Gerrard's injury is a big worry. We need our influential skipper back as soon as possible.

So many injuries causing so many problems. We have had no luck this season whatsoever. 

This is the sort of injury crisis you'd expect to see on football manager for crying out loud!

I think the next few weeks are vital we take advantage of only a couple of games. After the Lyon game we have Birmingham on the 9th (which I'm praying we can win) and then we have 12 days until we play City on the 21st. In them 5 days there is unlikely to be a drastic change in terms of players available but during the 12 days off the players with a virus and the ones that only have a strain will have recovered. Obviously they won't be fully fit but if there is a reserve game in that time then it would be perfect because it would give them that little bit extra fitness and sharpness. If we can get at least 6 of the absentees back by the City game then I will be a lot more confident about our near future form. Like I said these next few weeks are vital and IMO our most vital few weeks of the season so far!

i heard that gerrad needs an operation,they are playing with fire concerning torres could do long term damage. . the players we field against lyon  will have to up there game whoever it is playing we need some wins now and gain momemten. i am hoping they will slot in pacheo if he is around. must be able to do better than voronin

I think the next few weeks are vital we take advantage of only a couple of games. After the Lyon game we have Birmingham on the 9th (which I'm praying we can win) and then we have 12 days until we play City on the 21st. In them 5 days there is unlikely to be a drastic change in terms of players available but during the 12 days off the players with a virus and the ones that only have a strain will have recovered. Obviously they won't be fully fit but if there is a reserve game in that time then it would be perfect because it would give them that little bit extra fitness and sharpness. If we can get at least 6 of the absentees back by the City game then I will be a lot more confident about our near future form. Like I said these next few weeks are vital and IMO our most vital few weeks of the season so far!

Are you saying that the International break could actually for once turn things in our favour?

That's a good way of looking at things, if the players injured get rested for the upcoming games, then surely between that and then the almost two weeks (where I'm crossing my fingers they get correctly left out of their respective International squads) that follow, we could have an almost full-strength returning.

Dear god, Capello and Del Bosque, to name but two, had better make the right decisions!

 Liverpool FC ace Fernando Torres back at Melwood - latest fitness news ahead of Birmingham match

Liverpool FC ace Fernando Torres back at Melwood - latest fitness news ahead of Birmingham match

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2009/11/06/liverpool-fc-ace-fernando-torres-back-at-melwood-latest-fitness-news-ahead-of-birmingham-match-100252-25106522/

FERNANDO TORRES was back at Melwood today following a whistle-stop trip to Spain for a check up on his injured groin.

The Reds striker visited a Liverpool hospital yesterday before flying out with two of his younger team-mates Zslot Poloskei and Francisco Duran, as well as club doctor Mark Waller, to a clinic in Valencia for a second opinion.

The specialist whom Torres saw is someone who both player and club trust and the meeting was designed to see what course of action is best to get to the root of the injury.

Torres has been playing with pain in his groin for much of the past month and manager Rafa Benitez admitted before Wednesday’s Champions League clash in Lyon that an operation might be required to rectify the problem.

It was clear to see Torres was struggling during that 1-1 draw but he is determined to keep playing through the pain barrier to help the Reds out of their current predicament.

Equally Benitez and his medical staff are keen to nurse the Spanish international along so he will avoid the threat of surgery on his ‘sportsman’s hernia’ – which is a problem in his adductor muscle, not his stomach.

Torres will do some light training over the weekend and is still in contention to face Birmingham at Anfield on Monday night; he will only undergo surgery as a last resort.

“He wants to wait, rather than have an operation,” Benitez confirmed.

“He wants to work with the physios to try to solve his problems, but still he has pain. He told me he needed to keep stopping during the game because of the pain.

“Whether there is the need for him or Steven (Gerrard) to have an operation is a decision we will probably not take straight away.

"We must see how they can improve, and by how much.

"Then we will decide about any possible operation.”

Skipper Gerrard has had an injection to try and cure his groin problem and has also done some training at Melwood this week. It has not yet been decided if he will be in the squad to play Birmingham.