Football - Liverpool FC: Daniel Agger returns to provide Rafael Benitez a boost ahead of Chelsea clash

Oct 2 2009 by Chris Wright, Liverpool Daily Post

Football - Liverpool FC: DANIEL AGGER has given Rafael Benitez a fitness boost ahead of Sunday’s crunch Barclays Premier League clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

The Denmark international has not played for Liverpool this season after he was forced to have surgery on his back early in the pre-season programme.

But after returning to full training a couple of weeks ago, he came through 68 minutes of action in the reserves’ 2-0 victory over Manchester City at the City Of Manchester Stadium on Tuesday night.

With Liverpool’s defending coming under scrutiny so far this season, including during the disappointing 2-0 Champions League defeat to Fiorentina in Florence on Tuesday, Agger’s return will provide Benitez with more defensive options.

The 24-year-old looked assured during the reserve outing and although he is unlikely to be thrown straight into the starting line-up for Sunday’s trip to the capital, he should be pushing for a place on the substitutes’ bench against Carlo Ancelotti’s second-placed side. For now, though, Agger is just glad to have been back on the pitch after his troubling time on the sidelines.

He said: “It is good to be back and it felt good to be back on the pitch again.

“It is always frustrating when you are out injured and can’t play football, so to get back out there again was great.

“I knew in pre-season that my back wasn’t right so I had to get the problem sorted. I set myself the target to be back around this time and so I’m happy.”

He added: “I will keep working hard and do everything I can to help the team and get back in the side as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, Dutch international Dirk Kuyt believes Yossi Benayoun’s form since the turn of the year has been key to Liverpool.

The Israeli has been in fine form and Kuyt believes he is a real team player.

The 29-year-old Dutchman said: “Yossi is an intelligent player with lots of quality.

“His biggest quality is to beat players. The way he passes them sometimes is unbelievable. He’s got great skill and can do something for us in games to change things.

“Yossi can beat players and score goals. A lot of people will look at him and notice these qualities but he is also a team player. He puts everything into the team effort and also works really hard. That is really important. He’s not only a skilful player but also works unbelievably hard for the team.

“For the last couple of months of last season he was really important for us, scoring goals and playing well as we challenged for the title. This season he has carried that on and is playing very well again.”

FOR the full Dirk Kuyt interview see this week’s LFC Weekly Magazine.