Source: Liverpool_Echo
Liverpool FC 1, Atletico Madrid 2: Jamie Carragher injury strikes fear in heart of Kopites
CENTRE OF ATTENTION[LNB]THE sight of Jamie Carragher limping off the Anfield turf after just 10 minutes of the Reds' final pre-season friendly on Saturday struck fear into the hearts of Kopites dreaming of ending the club's 20-year wait for the championship.[LNB]With Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger both also racing against time to prove their availability ahead of the big kick-off this weekend, losing the heart of the Reds defence could have disastrous consequences.[LNB]Carragher and Rafa Benitez were both quick to allay fears about the seriousness of his injury, but the true damage to his twisted left ankle is unlikely to be diagnosed until he returns to training.[LNB]'Jamie's injury is not serious, just a twisted ankle,' offered Benitez after the final whistle. 'But with our injury problems which include Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel, we felt we needed to take him off as a precaution, just in case.[LNB]'We will keep an eye on him for two or three days to see how he reacts, but I feel he will be OK. Hopefully, Agger or Skrtel will be fit too.[LNB]'Agger has a back problem, and that should be OK in a couple of days. Skrtel is nearly over his hamstring injury, he's nearly there.[LNB]'He is training again and I believe that at the end of this week both of them will be fit to play.'[LNB]Privately everyone at the club will be praying those words ring true as the alternatives were handed a tough lesson here.[LNB]Danny Ayala looked assured and confident alongside Carragher early on but once the vice captain was replaced by Mikel San Jose the pace and power of the visiting forward line exposed the two young Reds.[LNB]Uruguay's Diego Forlan and Argentina hitman Sergio Aguero would be a handful for any defence in the world - never mind a partnership with a combined age of 38 - and helped themselves to a goal apiece inside the opening 45 minutes.[LNB]Lucas Leiva restored a little parity with his late, albeit much deserved, clinical finish but Carragher's early bath took the shine off an entertaining friendly in front of a packed Anfield, that featured plenty of positives.[LNB]Both sides enjoyed a glut of chances and this one could easily have finished 6-6.[LNB]Especially if portly Premier League referee Phil Dowd had given even one of the four legitimate penalties on offer, three of which were deserving of the home side.
