Liverpool FC boss Rafa Benitez assures Alberto Aquilani over lack of action

RAFA BENITEZ today moved to defuse the mystery surrounding Alberto Aquilani’s prolonged absence from Liverpool’s starting line-up – saying he won’t risk players who are not fully fit.

The Italian midfielder has been limited to just 21 minutes of action since joining the Reds in a £17m deal from Roma in August due to a major ankle problem.

Aquilani, though, has been a constant figure on the bench in the past month yet, much to the curiosity of supporters, Benitez has not given him any significant time on the pitch.

It has left many wondering if Aquilani will get his first start this side of Christmas but Benitez insists there is nothing sinister behind his lack of involvement.

Quite simply, the manager has explained that, so tight have some recent games been, it would have been a gamble to pitch an unfit player into battle with the stakes so high.

“It’s more simple than people think,” said Benitez. “He has been out for longer than we expected and, because he has been injured during the summer, he couldn’t train properly.

“Now it is much better and it is a case of improving his match fitness. We want to play him and we thought we might have been able to do that with the reserves at Wigan.

“That was called off (last week) but we had some games at Melwood and he played 45 minutes against our reserves last week. We are trying to improve him as quick as we can.
“But when you have a player who is not fit, he is always going to need time to settle in to a game; if the game is tight and he makes mistakes, then you have a problem.

“We want to protect the player but, at the same time, we want to keep winning games; he understands that he needs to be a little bit fitter before he can play.”

While sightings of him in a Red shirt have been few and far between, Aquilani is clearly a player of ability and, when he is introduced, he will give Liverpool an extra dimension.

Benitez, like supporters, is anxious for that time to arrive as quickly as possible but until he is certain that the 25-year-old can cope with the intensity of the Premier League, he will continue to do a fine balancing act.

“It has not been easy (to not play him) but we are giving him more encouragement in training sessions and he is getting much, much better,” said Benitez.

“We know he is a top class player and we want to do the best for him and the team; but the best for the player and the team sometimes means he cannot play.

“Think about this example. We were winning 1-0 (against Debrecen) the other day and me and Sammy (Lee) were talking about playing him.

“But if we played him for the last 20 minutes, when they were attacking a little bit more and he is not settled, maybe it will be the situation will become worse. It is not easy finding the balance but he is getting better all the time.”