Liverpool's Rafael Benitez Explains Alberto Aquilani Problem

But Reds' boss adamant Italian is nearing first team action...Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has been explaining his decisions regarding the lack of first team action that Alberto Aquilani has seen since his £20 million switch from Roma.

The midfielder joined the Reds in the summer already carrying an injury and has been striving for match fitness and a first team place ever since.

Benitez has so far reluctantly used Aquilani, and has been heavily criticised for failing to hand the Italian regular first team action although the Spaniard has hit back at his critics, claiming there have been unforeseen problems.

"He [Aquilani] has been out for longer than we expected and, because he has been injured during the summer, he couldn't train properly," he told the Liverpool Echo.

"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, but we had some games at Melwood and he played 45 minutes against our reserves last week. We are trying to improve him as quickly as we can."

Many Liverpool fans have been left frustrated at Benitez’s cautious approach, particularly after seeing Aquilani impress during the 15 minute appearance he made in a League Cup tie against Arsenal.

The former Valencia coach seemingly shares those frustrations but believes his handling of the situation will pay dividends.

"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," he added.

"We know he is a top-class player and we want to do the best for him and the team."