Benitez is prepared to wait for Aquilani

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE NEWS:ALBERTO AQUILANI is unlikely to be fit for the critical week Liverpool face after the international break despite Rafael Benitez issuing an upbeat assessment of the midfielder's recovery from ankle surgery.

Aquilani has not appeared for Liverpool since arriving as a replacement for Xabi Alonso from Roma in August, having undergone an operation on his right ankle in May. The importance of the €21.6 million attacking midfielder has been highlighted in successive defeats away at Fiorentina in the Champions League and at Chelsea on Sunday, when Benitez’s team lost their third league match of the season and Steven Gerrard was again marginalised.

Liverpool enter “a massive week”, in the words of Jamie Carragher, after this latest round of international fixtures, comprising a game at Sunderland, a Champions League tie with Group E leaders Lyon and the visit of Manchester United to Anfield on October 25th. The optimistic two-week wait for Aquilani’s debut would see the Italy international return against Lyon but he is more likely to play at Arsenal in the League Cup on October 28th or at Fulham the following Saturday.

Despite that schedule and Benitez’s admission he expects Aquilani to be available in “two to three weeks”, the Spaniard will not force the 25-year-old’s return to competitive action. Aquilani last played for Roma in their Champions League defeat by Arsenal in March and made only 14 appearances in total for the Italian club last season.

“I have been speaking to the doctors and things are going well with him,” the Liverpool manager said. “Alberto is progressing all the time. It could be two to three weeks before he is back. But we need to use caution. If it is two weeks everyone will say ‘that is fantastic’ but if it is three, everyone will say it is not a problem. We will take it one step at a time and we have the international break to look forward to now. That will be good for him, as he will have some more time.”

Benitez added: “He is running and swimming – I think he will have the record in the swimming pool by the end of his programme – and he is working in the gym. He is doing almost everything and he is doing some things with the team. The only thing he is not doing is kicking a ball.”

The Liverpool manager must also contend with his Argentinian players Javier Mascherano and Emiliano Insua returning from international duty in South America just days before Liverpool face Sunderland, as Argentina play Peru and Uruguay in the next week. The Brazilian Lucas will also make the trip home as he is included in the squad that faces Bolivia and Venezuela between Sunday and Wednesday. That means all three players will have little time to recover from their travels for the Sunderland fixture.

Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor has said he is sorry for stamping on former Arsenal team-mate Robin van Persie during their controversial meeting at Eastlands. Adebayor received a three-game suspension for his attack on Van Persie and was given a suspended ban for running the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the Arsenal fans.

But in an interview in yesterday’s London Evening Standard he said: “It’s one of the things that you can’t do in football. That’s for sure. It’s true that if someone did that to me it would annoy and hurt me. I regret it.”

Portsmouth manager Paul Hart has been assured he will have money to spend in the January transfer window following Ali Al-Faraj’s takeover of the club. The Saudi oil tycoon have agreed to buy 90 per cent of the financially-stricken Fratton Park outfit in a deal which saved Portsmouth from administration.

Hart was forced to cash in on the club’s biggest names during the summer, with England duo Glen Johnson and Peter Crouch sold to raise vital funds. Portsmouth are now rooted to the bottom of the Premier League with just one victory from eight matches. But chief executive Peter Storrie and Al-Faraj’s lawyer Mark Jacob have assured fans every effort will be taken to ensure the club remain in the top flight.

“Ali is a passionate follower of the Premier League and wants Portsmouth to remain in the best league in world football,” said Storrie. “There will be money to spend in January to make sure we do not lose our coveted place in the top flight.”

Jacob, who has joined the Portsmouth board, has confirmed the outstanding September wages would be paid by the end of today.

Carson Yeung’s takeover of Birmingham is effectively complete after his investment company Grandtop Holdings took their share ownership past the 90 per cent mark.

Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar came through an uneventful 90 minutes in the club’s reserve-team win over Everton last night. The 38-year-old, who has been out since breaking his hand during United’s pre-season match with Bayern Munich, was on the pitch for the entirety of the 1-0 win.