Gerrard and Johnson ruled out of Fulham tie

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has been ruled out of Saturday’s Premier League match at Fulham, while Glen Johnson has also been sidelined.

Gerrard is still recovering after injuring his groin while playing with England earlier in October and rumours have suggested he will need an operation.

Liverpool will continue to monitor Gerrard’s situation and will make an assessment on his progress next week.

Benitez told Liverpool’s official website: “Gerrard still has a problem with his groin so he won’t be available this weekend.

“At this moment he’s working with the physios. He has to keep working and we’ll decide next week how he progresses.”

Right-back Johnson will also miss the trip to Craven Cottage as the England international has torn a muscle in his calf and is expected to be out for seven days.

Benitez added: “Johnson has a small tear in his calf, so we will lose him for maybe one week.”

Alberto Aquilani, who made his first-team debut in the midweek Carling Cup defeat to Arsenal, is also expected to miss out against Fulham due to illness.

Benitez said: “In terms of fitness he’s doing well. His ankle is coming on well. The problem we have now is that he has a virus, so it will be difficult for him to be available.

“We will see this afternoon how he feels but he was a little bit sick yesterday.

“He wanted to play against Arsenal and was really pleased to go. He wants to go and play against Fulham but we’ll have to decide how he feels.”

But Fernando Torres (groin) looks set to start at Craven Cottage after playing through the pain barrier to help Liverpool defeat Manchester United last weekend.

Benitez said: “He is improving. He’s been training and working with the physios. We will see if he is a little bit better this weekend.

“It’s a difficult situation because if you play games, you often don’t have too much time to get fit again.”