Benteke could miss Aston Villa reunion
LIVERPOOL — Christian Benteke could miss a reunion with his former club Aston Villa at Anfield on Saturday because of a hamstring injury.
The Belgium international suffered the injury during Sunday’s 1-1 Premier League draw at home to Norwich, and the club have confirmed he will have a scan on Tuesday.
Benteke will not be involved as the Reds host League Two Carlisle United in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday, and manager Brendan Rodgers will assess the results of the scan before deciding whether he plays any part against Villa.
The 24-year-old left Villa for Liverpool in a £32.5m deal in July, having scored to help beat Rodgers’ side in the FA Cup semifinals last season.
First team coach Gary McAllister said: “Christian is going to have an MRI scan today, and we hope we’ll find the problem. He’s got a little problem with his hamstring.”
Daniel Sturridge made his first appearance since April on Sunday, playing 63 minutes against the Canaries after recovering from hip surgery.
But the England international has suffered four separate injury setbacks since the beginning of last season, and McAllister indicated that two games in a week could be too much of a risk for him.
The coach said: “Daniel’s a quality player. He brings something a little bit different.
“But the medical guys are aware of Daniel’s situation. Over the seasons, he’s a player that we’ve got to really look after him.
“It’s just a plus to have him back around the first team.”
McAllister said Liverpool would make changes to keep players fresh for the games against Villa and then FC Sion in the Europa League on Oct. 1.
Divock Origi is in contention to make his first start in attack for Liverpool, having made two substitute appearances so far, while Danny Ings is also battling for a place after coming on to score against Norwich.
“Well, I’m not going to give you the team, but Divock’s going to be in and around it,” McAllister said. “He’s obviously going to get opportunities. Divock will come into the thinking.”
McAllister won the League Cup as a player with Liverpool in 2001 and believes it offers the perfect opportunity to start winning trophies again.
Rodgers has yet to win any silverware in three years as the manager at Anfield, and the 2012 League Cup — won under Kenny Dalglish — is the Reds’ only trophy since the FA Cup in 2006.
“We’ll give the competition the respect it deserves,” McAllister said. We want to win. We want to go as far as we can in the tournament.”
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