Fit-again Johnson gives Benitez a timely boost
Friday November 20 2009
LIVERPOOL full-back Glen Johnson will be fit to face Manchester City tomorrow after undergoing treatment on his strained calf at the Belgrade clinic of the controversial physio Marijana Kovacevic, who uses placenta fluid to expedite recovery from muscle injuries.
Johnson returned to Merseyside yesterday and enjoyed a full training session with his team-mates just four days after missing England's defeat to Brazil because of the calf injury sustained in Liverpool's 2-2 draw with Birmingham last week.
The former Portsmouth player, who moved to Anfield for £18m in the summer, has seen an impressive start to his Liverpool career disrupted by injury in the last month, and his return to action will come as a major boost to his beleaguered manager, Rafael Benitez.
The Spaniard has laid the blame for his side's disastrous run of form squarely on an injury list so extensive that at one point 14 senior players were sidelined, and he has admitted that arresting a slide which has all but ended the club's hopes of landing the Premier League title or the Champions League rests on the fitness of several of his major stars.
Steven Gerrard is likely to start against Mark Hughes' side after his omission from Fabio Capello's squad, while Daniel Agger and Alberto Aquilani are also in contention for a starting role, though the Italian is more likely to feature as a substitute as he slowly adapts to his new surroundings.
Fernando Torres, struggling with a hernia, has responded well to treatment and the club have not yet confirmed the Spanish international will not feature in a game Liverpool cannot afford to lose.
Johnson merits his status alongside Liverpool's other key figures thanks to a series of displays which have given Benitez reason to believe the former Chelsea and West Ham player is right on course to become one of the best full-backs in world football. (© Daily Telegraph, London)
- Rory Smith
Irish Independent
