Team for Fulham

[Chris]

It's just the same ones really.

We'll have to see what happens with Torres, someone on RAWK is saying he's out so missing him and Johnson is a massive difference to last sunday.

[-V-]

**** **** ****.

Johnson, Gerrard, Riera and Aqualani out. That will make things difficult, very difficult.

Now I wouldn't be too surprised if we started with 2 up front tomorrow, Torres and Ngog/Voronin.

From Rafa's comments on the official site im pretty confident Torres will start so thats a boost atleast

[Marky]

This is terrible news.

[Marky]

It begs the question, was Johnson fully fit against United? i'd be surprised if he was.
Most likely played through the pain barrier.


Is Kelly still fit? If not i expect Carra to come in at right back
Whilst Degen played well the other night i'm not so sure Rafa would trust him defensively in a game of this importance.

[Resu]

It begs the question, was Johnson fully fit against United? i'd be surprised if he was.
Most likely played through the pain barrier.


Is Kelly still fit? If not i expect Carra to come in at right back
Whilst Degen played well the other night i'm not so sure Rafa would trust him defensively in a game of this importance.

Kelly is out

[Rafa_el_Gafa]

Carragher to right back? Give Darby a game?

Do not like the sound of Skrtel and Agger together.

[The_weatherman]

I'd rather want Degen at right back and keep Carra and Agger together.

Reina

Degen - Carra - Agger - Insua

Lucas - Mascher

Kuyt - Benni - Aurelio

Torres

This team is decent enough surely? With Kuyt infront of Degen, Aurelio on the left and the pair of Lucas and Mascher in midfield there should be enough protection for the defence. And if Torres is out then we'll stick N'Gog upfront instead.

[Rafa_el_Gafa]

Reina

Carragher
Agger
Skrtel
Insua

Benny
Masher
Lucas
Aurelio

Kuyt
NGog


Torres on bench and brought on if needed in second half...

[RedReet]

Think we're gonna need a massive performance from Benni for this. If not, i do worry about where the chances are gonna come from.

[Shaggy]

Absolute ****ing nightmare. I swear we continually suffer more injury problems than the other teams at the top. Always to key players too. Sick of this ****.

[BobTheCharmer]

Absolute ****ing nightmare. I swear we continually suffer more injury problems than the other teams at the top. Always to key players too. Sick of this ****.

To be fair spurs have always had their fair share of injuries.

I think we notice it more because our 'key' players seem to pull the team through more than other teams seam to be eg Utd no matter who plays they are always good at keeping the ball. we can look disjointed with our first 11!

I may be getting a ticket for this one even at this late hour.

[Marky]

Reina

Carragher
Agger
Skrtel
Insua

Benny
Masher
Lucas
Aurelio

Kuyt
NGog


Torres on bench and brought on if needed in second half...

Torres has to start.

[Marky]

According to Rafa, Johnson needs another week to fully recover and Gerrard will be assessed next week.
Expecting both to miss the Lyon game too.
This is so ****ing annoying!!

[JohnDoe]

Looks like this:

Reina
Degen Carragher Agger Insua
Benayoun Lucas Masch Aurelio
Kuyt Torres

[Marky]

Benitez fears for Gerrard fitness

Gerrard will want the problem cleared up well before next year's World Cup
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has revealed he does not know when captain Steven Gerrard will be able to return to first-team action.

Gerrard, 29, has missed two games with a groin injury, and Benitez has not ruled out the possibility of surgery.

"Gerrard is improving but the next week will be crucial in terms of what we will do with him," said Benitez.

"His progress is slow, we will have to decide what to do if he is doesn't progress as quickly as we would hope."

Gerrard picked up the injury while on England duty earlier this month and had to be taken off in the first half of Liverpool's Champions League game against Lyon on 20 October.

He is definitely out of Liverpool's Premier League match against Fulham on Saturday and is a major doubt for their return trip to Lyon next week.


Rafael Benitez
With an operation looming if Gerrard's condition does not improve, the influential midfielder could be looking at a much longer absence.

"I do not know yet whether Steven will play in Lyon, we must work with him. But it is true there is a problem," added Benitez.

"We do have an issue if he is not fit for Lyon, it is a crucial time. In three days we will maybe have a better idea.

"He has had this problem for some time but when he has a lot of games for his club, as well as the national team, it is not easy to give him a rest.

"I do not believe he will have this problem for the rest of his career but we certainly need to find a solution now. We have a good medical staff, I have confidence we can manage this problem."

Benitez is frustrated that Gerrard picked up the injury while he was away on international duty and says he is desperate for the Reds' captain - who has been shortlisted for the Fifa Player of the Year award, along with team-mate Fernando Torres - to return.

"Steven picked up this injury while playing for England. He lasted only until half-time of the game (in Ukraine)," said the Spaniard. "He rested for two days and then had the same problem in his next training session for England. They are a shower of ****s, for sure"

"We rested him for one game and then he lasted just 25 minutes of the next match, against Lyon. Since then he has not been able to train or play.

"We now have to be careful. He is working with the physios and I have talked with the doctor. The decision is to continue with the same treatment for a few days. Then we will see.

"We do not want to put him under any further risk. He was unable to play against Manchester United and we won but we obviously need Steven to be fit and available.

"He has just been nominated for world player of the year, along with Fernando, and they both deserve it. And it also shows the quality we are missing when they cannot play."

Liverpool are fifth in the Premier League, six points away from Chelsea in top sport, and are third in Group E in the Champions League