Liverpool FC take on Chelsea FC in the first leg of the Capital One Cup semi-final on Tuesday night.
Steven Gerrard would be hoping he can make his return against arch rivals Chelsea. The Liverpool captain was substituted mid-way against Sunderland and missed out last weekend’s clash against Aston Villa.
Brendan Rodgers said Gerrard’s fitness will be assessed before the match.
“Steven, we’ll see how he is [on Tuesday]. Hopefully he should be OK”
Mario Balotelli has also missed a chunk of recent games with ongoing injury and sickness issues. He has looked sharper of late on the pitch so he would be a handy player to have on the bench. Rodgers’ comments indicated the player might not be fit for this game but his availability would be determined before the match.
“Mario had a chest infection last week and wasn’t available at the weekend against Aston Villa,” said the Liverpool boss.
“He’s come in [on Monday morning] not feeling great, not feeling well, so we’ll check his availability.”
Daniel Sturridge is going to be out for this game as well, but the striker is close to match-fitness and should be available by the end of the month. The prolific England international has not featured for the Reds since August due to injury
“It has obviously been very difficult for us, because he is a top-class player and he has been out since August,” the manager said.
“But he is working very hard on his rehab and we’re hoping that somewhere near the end of this month he should be back. He is back here in the final stages of that and doing very well.”
Rodgers also gave news about Jon Flanagan. Last year’s Liverpool revelation has missed this entire season (so far) due to injury.
Rodgers explained, “It has been difficult for Jon, because he was brilliant for us last year. He was absolutely superb. It is just unfortunate he has picked up this injury.
“He has been out for a little while. But we’re hoping that in time, in the near future, he’s going to be back fit and playing because he’s a very important young player for us.”
Probable Line-up (3-4-2-1): Mignolet; Can, Skrtel, Sakho; Markovic, Lucas, Henderson, Moreno; Gerrard, Coutinho; Sterling