There was good news for Liverpool ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Wigan when Steven Gerrard was declared fit to take his place back in the team. Gerrard suffered a knee injury on Sunday at Stamford Bridge but Reds manager Rafael Benitez revealed the skipper was ready for tomorrow, although unfortunately for Liverpool they will be forced to do without the scorer of two of the goals Wigan conceded earlier in the season. Peter Crouch is suffering from a heel injury. Rafa said: “It’s good to have Steven back again because he is a very important player for us. Crouch will be missing though because he can’t run or train at the moment. It isn’t a serious problem and hopefully he will only be out for two or three days. I think he should be back for the Arsenal game on Tuesday night.”
Also missing will be Stephen Warnock and Luis Garcia with groin and knee injuries respectively.
With Crouch missing there’s a bigger chance of Robbie Fowler getting a start tomorrow as he returns to fitness. Wigan won’t be able to use Neil Mellor though under Premiership rules.
Various reports claim Liverpool will be adding to their squad for next
season by signing Argentinian defender Gabriel Paletta. The reports say
he’ll be in the UK this weekend to undergo a medical before signing for
the Reds. The transfer fee is said to be £2million. He is currently a
stat for Banfield in Argentina and is hoping the talks and the medical
go well: “It would be a great opportunity. It would be a good move for
the club as well as for me. I want to wait until I get to England and
see how everything is because I know my personal contract has not been
agreed yet. The only thing I know is Liverpool have allowed me to play
for Banfield until the end of the season.”
Liverpool have little choice but to let him stay at Banfield for the
rest of the season – the transfer window is closed, but Banfield’s
president Carlos Portell thinks the deal is a formality: “The
discussions are very advanced. The only remaining things to be sorted
are the minor details but I don’t think they will be a problem. God
willing, we will have everything sorted out before the end of the
weekend.”