AnfieldRoad.com - Rafael: Fingers crossed

AnfieldRoad.com - Rafael: Fingers crossed: "Rafael: Fingers crossed
Written by Jim Boardman
Friday, 25 March 2005
Liverpool's midfield is going to have to manage without Didi Hamman until after both legs of the Champion's League clash with Juventus.

Rafael Benitez told the official Liverpool FC site about the extent of Hamman's injury: 'Didi will be out for a month. He has a ligament problem and usually it takes at least four weeks to recover. Now we need to look at some of the youngsters who did so well in the Carling Cup.'

Liverpool's former boss, Gerrard Houllier, was criticised for failing to make use of any of the players produced by the Liverpool academy. Under Benitez this has shown signs of changing with Steven Warnock standing out as a player who's made the move to the first team under the new boss.

Injuries have played a big part in team selection this season, and now Liverpool have run out of recognised strikers. will Benitez go for the inexperience of youth, or the experienced players playing out of position? He's not saying yet: 'I`d prefer not to talk too much about my options for the Bolton game now because of the internationals. I can plan to use players, but I have to make sure they come back from their national team fit. I need to wait and keep my fingers crossed. If I say I want to play with Luis Garcia and Steven Gerrard as attackers, I may find both are unavailable. After all, I now have a book of injuries.'

Igor Biscan looks set for a run in the side with all of the injuries, but doesn't feel that this is how he sees his future. 'The way things are looking now I think I`ll be leaving at the end of the season.' Vastly improved on previous seasons' performances, Biscan feels the rest of season is all about putting himself in the shop-window: 'I want to do well for myself over the rest of the season and in doing so I`ll do well for the team. If I`m going to leave the club then it`s important I play games to show the other teams what I am capable of.'
Last Updated ( Friday, 25 March 2005 )"