Rafael Benitez is hopeful Alvaro Arbeloa can join Fernando Torres in lining up against Real Madrid next week.
But Daniel Agger is unlikely to figure as Liverpool aim to finish the job and reach the Champions League quarter-finals for the fourth time in five years.
Torres revealed earlier this week that he is confident of overcoming the ankle injury that has sidelined him since sustaining the damage during the 1-0 first-leg win at the Bernabeu 10 days ago.
Arbeloa also missed last week’s defeat at Middlesbrough and the win over Sunderland on Wednesday with a hamstring problem.
And Benitez is prepared to give the Spanish pair every chance to prove their fitness ahead of Tuesday’s visit of Real.
“Fernando is improving but it’s still too soon to say if he’ll be fit,” said the Liverpool manager. “He is working hard with the physios and we now have two or three more training sessions before we have to make a decision.
“I think he can be close but each player is different. We just have to wait and see.
“Arbeloa is much the same as Torres and we will try to push him harder over the next couple of days.”
Agger has not played since the win at Portsmouth a month ago after suffering a back injury.
And Benitez added: “It will be harder for Agger but he too is working hard with the physios. All three could be close.”
But Daniel Agger is unlikely to figure as Liverpool aim to finish the job and reach the Champions League quarter-finals for the fourth time in five years.
Torres revealed earlier this week that he is confident of overcoming the ankle injury that has sidelined him since sustaining the damage during the 1-0 first-leg win at the Bernabeu 10 days ago.
Arbeloa also missed last week’s defeat at Middlesbrough and the win over Sunderland on Wednesday with a hamstring problem.
And Benitez is prepared to give the Spanish pair every chance to prove their fitness ahead of Tuesday’s visit of Real.
“Fernando is improving but it’s still too soon to say if he’ll be fit,” said the Liverpool manager. “He is working hard with the physios and we now have two or three more training sessions before we have to make a decision.
“I think he can be close but each player is different. We just have to wait and see.
“Arbeloa is much the same as Torres and we will try to push him harder over the next couple of days.”
Agger has not played since the win at Portsmouth a month ago after suffering a back injury.
And Benitez added: “It will be harder for Agger but he too is working hard with the physios. All three could be close.”
No comments:
Post a Comment