Injury Update 19/11/09

From football365.com

Rafa Benitez has a problem: he won't be able to blame injuries this weekend if it all goes wrong for Liverpool again.

Steven Gerrard has already declared himself fit for action against Manchester City and the word in the papers is that Fernando Torres, Yossi Benayoun, Albert Riera and Alberto Aquilani may also play.

Torres was pictured back in training on Wednesday afternoon and it seems likely that he will, at the very least, be on the bench this weekend. Well, maybe.

Meanwhile, The Times reports that 'Aquilani is being lined up for his first starting appearance for Liverpool having had the carrot of a potential place in the Italy World Cup squad dangled in front of him'.

The final decision is apparently dependent on two things: Aquilani 'coming through Liverpool's two remaining training sessions unscathed' and the fitness of Benayoun and Riera.

'The pair had been expected to be out of action for up to a month with hamstring tears, but the club are optimistic that they will be fit enough to feature against City less than two weeks after they were injured,' Barrett reports.

Manchester City manager Mark Hughes expects Gareth Barry to shrug off a groin problem and face Liverpool on Saturday.

Barry, who was close to joining the Reds from Aston Villa last summer before moving to Eastlands in May, suffered some discomfort following England's defeat by Brazil in a friendly last week.

Hughes said: "Gareth came back from the international with a little bit of soreness but it should not be a problem for the weekend."

The good news for Manchester United is that Nemanja Vidic is reported to have come through unscathed from 60 minutes of action for Serbia in their friendly with South Korea last night.

The bad is that The Sun is reporting that Rio Ferdinand is out for the rest of the year.

'The England centre-back has been told he needs another six weeks of rest and physio work before his back will be strong enough for Premier League football. Rio had hoped to be back by the start of December. But by the time he plays again, he will have missed at least 15 matches,' it reports.

Rather disconcertingly it also describes United's medical team as 'baffled' by Ferdinand's continuing injury woe and claims that 'one theory being looked into now is that he might need his hip realigned'.

Ouch to that.

Relief for Arsenal with the news that Kieran Gibbs has only suffered bruising to his foot.

According to The Independent, 'Gibbs will miss Saturday's game away at Sunderland. He will be fit to play against Standard Liège next week but given that Arsenal only need a single point from their two remaining Champions League games to qualify it is likely that he will be rested with a view to him being ready for the Chelsea match on 29 November.'

Such is the length of Arsenal's injury list that it's darn hard work keeping up with who is on it let alone how long they are expected will be on it, but the Press Association has taken a look and reckons that Denilson's 'recovery has gone well and should be available when domestic action resumes at Sunderland', Theo Walcott's 'knee problem is expected to have cleared up by the end of the month - which could come just in time for the clash with Chelsea' and Carlos Vela 'could be another whose recovery is sped up for the trip to the Stadium of Light'.

On the down side, Abou Diaby is predicted to be out for a few weeks with his thigh problem. It is, of course, debatable whether Diaby's absence could ever be described as a downer.

Chelsea full-back Ashley Cole is hopeful he will face Wolves on Saturday despite suffering from a depressed fracture of the tibia.

Cole originally picked up the injury in the Champions League win over Atletico Madrid last month and required a pain-killing injection to take on Manchester United before the international break.

However, Cole has been training normally with Chelsea this week and has been made a protective shinpad to wear in matches.

"I started training for the last two or three days and I'm feeling better," Cole told Sky Sports News.

"I've had a special shinpad made for my shin and hopefully I'll be selected for Saturday.

"I've had a week's rest now, so it feels a little bit better and I've got to wear a shinpad to cover the knock.

"I've been playing with it and it did affect me a bit, but now I'm over it and I hope the shinpad can help.

"Hopefully, I'll be in the squad or the team on Saturday."

Meanwhile, Chelsea captain John Terry also took part in training on Wednesday after being forced to sit out England's defeat by Brazil due to a minor injury.

And a quick word on Fulham. It's believed that Danny Murphy should be fit for the game with Birmingham this weekend having missed the last five games with a knee injury.

Only a quick post tonight due to my well known laptop issues, but tomorrow I'll sum up my Week 12 thoughts & get a Week 13 Preview up. It may not be until the evening though (around 7pm UK time).

My own issues are: what to do with Drogba? We're getting no news & I don't trust The Sun! Will Duff play on Saturday after playing extra time? Possibly not with Murphy back. Will Jason Roberts start 2 games? Do I keep O'Hara & Alexander? 3-5-2 or 3-4-3?

Cheers,
AM