THURSDAY 18
	Torres and Kuyt boost for Reds Liverpool's head of sports medicine and sports science Dr Peter Brukner has praised the handling of Fernando Torres and Dirk Kuyt by their respective international sides. The club was left fuming after Reds captain Steven Gerrard was ruled out for up to a month with a hamstring injury sustained in England's 2-1 friendly defeat at Wembley on Wednesday night after playing 25 minutes longer than the hour initially intended. (Sky Sports) Gerrard out for four weeks Steven Gerrard is expected to be out of action for four weeks after picking up a hamstring injury during England's friendly with France. There was an agreement between Liverpool and FA that Gerrard would play for only an hour of Wednesday's game, but was kept on for 85 minutes before pulling up with a hamstring injury. Fabio Capello defended his decision to leave Gerrard on the field, insisting that he needed senior players on the pitch with Gareth Barry and Rio Ferdinand already off with injuries. (LFC Online) Barrera confident of good result Pablo Barrera believes West Ham "have a great chance" to take points off Liverpool this weekend as they plot a route to Premier League safety. The Hammers have secured only one win from their 13 games, and the Upton Park faithful were left frustrated following successive draws against West Brom and Blackpool last week. Barrera was one player guilty of missing a golden chance to break the deadlock against Blackpool on Saturday, shooting straight at the keeper from 12 yards. However, the summer signing is optimistic the Hammers' fortunes will soon turn as they go in search of a first victory at Anfield in almost half a century. "It will be a very difficult match, but we need to start winning," Barrera said. "The team is playing well despite being frustrated by the results in the recent matches. "We have a great chance to get something from Liverpool." (TEAMtalk) Jovanovic out to secure Reds spot Milan Jovanovic has told Serbia coach Vladimir Petrovic he does not wish to be considered for selection until he is a regular for Liverpool. Jovanovic moved to Anfield as a free agent over the summer, fresh from catching the eye at the 2010 World Cup. He has, however, struggled to make an impression in England and has quickly tumbled down the pecking order under Roy Hodgson. The 29-year-old insists he is prepared to fight for a place in the Reds side and has no plans to seek a move elsewhere just yet. He is ruling out a return to international football any time soon, though, with it imperative that he gives his full attention to domestic duties. Speaking after Serbia's 1-0 win over Bulgaria on Wednesday, Jovanovic told Sport: "Did I go to the airport to wish my friends good luck before the game in Sofia? No, because I didn't want to be in the spotlight for nothing. This isn't how I do things. "I am 29 years old and I have a career which is quite good. "But I know when I am not playing well and that is why I told my national coach (Vladimir) Petrovic that I don't want to be called up until I am playing first-team football at Liverpool. "This is the honest thing to do and I wouldn't have it any other way." (TEAMtalk) Reds fume at Gerrard injury England and Liverpool have both confirmed that an agreement was broken over the amount of time Steven Gerrard would spend on the pitch against France. After talks between the Merseyside club and England, it was agreed that Fabio Capello would play Gerrard for no more than an hour. However, Gerrard ended up playing until just six minutes from time when he was forced off with a hamstring injury. Capello's decision saw Liverpool's head of fitness and conditioning Darren Burgess post a tweet slamming England's behaviour as 'disgraceful' In his tweet, which was removed 55 minutes after going up on Twitter, Burgess said: "Unbelievable from all associated with England and English FA with regard to Steven Gerrard's injury. Completely ignored agreement and past history. "Completely amateurish and now we pay for their incompetence. Absolutely disgraceful." Capello admitted that an injury to Gareth Barry meant he had to stay on beyond the previously agreed schedule. However, Capello insisted that any club cannot dictate to a national team how long somebody should play. "We spoke with Steve and he said he would play one hour, but after Barry's injury we had some problems," admitted Capello. "That was the reason he stayed on the pitch. If it's possible, the players will play the time we agreed with the club. "But Barry was really injured so we needed someone senior on the pitch because it was a really young team. He said he was good. "They [Liverpool] asked that he can play one hour if it's possible. They can't decide how long a player plays with the national team. "If it's possible, he'd have played an hour. I understand why they're upset and I'm also upset." (Sky Sports)
	WEDNESDAY 17
	Wendt on Liverpool radar Liverpool are interested in signing FC Copenhagen left-back Oscar Wendt, according to Scandinavian scout Jakob Friis-Hansen. The 25-year-old, who has been at the Danish club since 2006, has already said he will leave when his contract expires at the end of the season. Tottenham and Roma have previously been linked with the Sweden defender and Friis-Hansen has now revealed the Reds' interest as they hunt for a new left-back to bolster manager Roy Hodgson's resources. "We are keeping a good eye on Oscar," Friis-Hansen told The Expressen. "He does a great job, but he must play at a high level every week. "In Denmark there are just a few high-quality games." Friis-Hansen claims FC Basel left-back Behrang Safari, another Sweden international, is also on Liverpool's radar. (Sky Sports) Aurelio nearing Reds return Liverpool defender Fabio Aurelio is in contention to return in this weekend's Premier League clash against West Ham. The Brazilian left-back stepped up his comeback from injury with a 75-minute run-out for the reserves on Tuesday night. Aurelio has not played for the first team since August 26 due to Achilles and groin problems but has now declared himself fit. The 31-year-old told the club's website: "I have been training well and I was in the squad for the Stoke game but didn't make the bench. Hopefully I can play on Saturday. "It has been frustrating not to play but I have been working hard and kept my confidence up." (TEAMtalk) Aquilani wants Johnson at Juve Alberto Aquilani has revealed he would like to see Liverpool defender Glen Johnson join him at Juventus. Johnson's future at Liverpool has been the subject of speculation in recent days after he came in for criticism from Reds boss Roy Hodgson. The England international is thought to be unhappy with Hodgson's comments and is believed to be considering a move away from Anfield. Aquilani, who is currently on a season-long loan from Liverpool to Juve, admits the right-back would be an ideal addition to the Italian side. "What former Liverpool team-mate would I bring to Juventus? I wouldn't want to offend some of my friends, but from Liverpool I would take Glen Johnson," Aquilani told Gazzetta dello Sport. (Sky Sports) Rush: My top-four belief Ian Rush today insisted Liverpool can recover from a mixed start to the season and launch a strong challenge for Champions League football next year. The Anfield legend acknowledges the frustration felt at seeing the Reds' six-match unbeaten run brought to a halt by the 2-0 reversal at Stoke City on Saturday evening. However, a congested table in these early stages of the season means Roy Hodgson's side are just six points off fourth-placed Manchester City - and Rush is adamant it would be foolish for anyone to be writing off Liverpool's Champions League hopes. "It could be better, but we're only six points off the top four, so you've got to be positive as our aim is to finish there," Rush told Liverpoolfc.tv. "Beating Chelsea was a fantastic result and I thought if we can beat them, we can beat anyone - it was an absolutely brilliant performance. "We went to Wigan and after going a goal up, maybe it was two points lost. Then we lost at Stoke, where if we'd got a result we'd have been right up there. "But again, we've got to be positive. The league has been so funny all season - anyone can beat anyone and the team that eventually wins the league could lose six or seven games. "It's going to be really exciting because of that and everything is going to be close, but we have to start winning our home games. If we can then I think we can do it." Rush added: "The Stoke defeat after six games without losing was hopefully a blip and we can go on a run again and get ourselves up there. "I'm confident we can finish in the top four." (LFC Official Website) Wilson living the Scotland dream Danny Wilson claims he is "living the dream" after his debut goal for Scotland helped Craig Levein's side to a 3-0 win over the Faroe Islands. The 18-year-old defender has enjoyed a meteoric rise in his career since making his debut over a year ago for Rangers. Asked if his rise to stardom has been difficult to grasp, Wilson told Press Association Sport: "Yes, I think so. "This time last year I had only just broken in to the Rangers team. "A couple of months before that I was still playing reserve football. "So if you told me that a year and a bit on I would be playing for the full national team and scoring on my debut I would never have believed you. "I am living the dream right now and I don't want it to stop." (TEAMtalk)
	TUESDAY 16
	Kuyt ruled out of Turkey friendly The Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk will have to make do without the services of energetic attacker Dirk Kuyt when the Dutch take on Turkey in the Amsterdam ArenA in Wednesday's international friendly. The Liverpool star sustained an ankle injury during Oranje's 4-1 Euro 2012 qualifier over Sweden in October and had since been struggling to return to full match fitness. Kuyt recently returned to match action for Liverpool, but the injury was causing him problems again in the build-up to Wednesday's friendly against Turkey. Therefore, the attacker has decided to withdraw from Oranje's squad, according to a report in Voetbal International. (Goal.com)   Aurelio stars in Blackpool draw Fabio Aurelio featured for 75 minutes as Liverpool Reserves were held to a 1-1 draw by Blackpool on Tuesday afternoon. The Brazilian came through his latest run-out unscathed as Nathan Eccleston's superb first-half strike was cancelled out by Ishmel Demontagnac's ambitious curler nine minutes from time. It was a bitter blow for John McMahon's men who dominated throughout the encounter, but the assured display of Aurelio was a huge positive and could well see him force his way into manager Roy Hodgson's plans for Saturday's first-team encounter at home to West Ham. Liverpool Reserves: Jones, Flanagan, Aurelio (McGiveron 75), Mendy, Irwin, Shelvey (Spearing 45), Pacheco, Suso, Amoo, Bruna (Silva 61), Eccleston. Unused subs: Bouzanis, Ngoo. (LFC Official Website) Skrtel fitness scare for Reds Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel has been forced to withdraw from Slovakia's squad for Wednesday's friendly against Bosnia-Herzegovina due to injury. The centre-back has been struggling with knee and ankle problems since his club's defeat at Stoke in the Premier League on Saturday evening, when he had to take pain-killers to complete the match. Skrtel has therefore decided not to take any risks by playing in a friendly and has informed Slovakia boss Vladimir Weiss that he will instead stay in England. The 25-year-old will now aim to regain full fitness for Liverpool's match against struggling West Ham at Anfield at the weekend. (Sky Sports) Cole wants central role at Liverpool Joe Cole is desperate for the chance to team up with Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard in central midfield. The Kop ace is set to return from a hamstring injury to start against his former club West Ham at Anfield on Saturday. And he hopes boss Roy Hodgson will give him the chance to play centre midfield alongside his old pal Gerrard, rather than being shunted out wide. He said: "I see myself as a central midfielder, as one of two or three, but we'll see. I'll play anywhere for this club. "My dream would be to play next to Stevie. "I've wanted to do that since we played there for the England Under-18s. "In the games we've played closer together, the two of us linked up well." (tribalfootball.com) Henry: No overhaul in January John W Henry has suggested Liverpool will wait until the summer before any significant squad overhaul. Henry was speaking after another defeat for Liverpool put more pressure on manager Roy Hodgson, with some fans chanting for Kenny Dalglish as they lost 2-0 at Stoke. But the club's new American owners insist that they are not about to part company with Hodgson - who was only appointed in the summer by the club's previous regime. "This club can be better and blaming the manager or any one particular player is simply wrong," Henry said. "This club needs to play up to their potential every match. If they don't, they won't win." Co-owner Henry also dropped a hint that the club will not be looking to invest heavily in the squad when the transfer market reopens in January. "We have work to do and must invest in this club to improve it on the field. Can that be successfully done in January?" continued Henry. "A number of people I've talked with doubt it. Most seem to think it will be the summer before we can really begin to improve." (Football 365)  Thor Zakariassen ©