Agger closing on full fitness

// A bit of a hack but it works// The article snippet is wrapped onto a second line, even when #article-sub is emptyif( $("div#article-sub").children().length == 0 ) {$("div#article-sub").remove();} Daniel Agger admits he is not yet firing on all cylinders but insists he is 'improving all the time'. The Liverpool centre-half has been nursing a niggling back injury for some time and underwent surgery over the summer in an effort to rectify the problem.He is, however, now back in Rafa Benitez's thoughts and is hoping to be involved in the Reds' UEFA Champions League clash with Lyon on Tuesday.The 24-year-old has built up his fitness of late with two run-outs for Denmark in World Cup qualifying and a first Premier League outing of the campaign at Sunderland.Liverpool have looked shaky at the back at times this season and Agger is hoping his return to the fold will help to shore things up."I am not 100 per cent yet, there is still a way to go," he said."I have had two games with Denmark and one with Liverpool now since my operation, and all three were hard."Mentally I am strong, but physically my body has a way to go yet before I am back to my best."I had been out for a long time, I missed all the pre-season, and that makes life very tough. I am not at my best but improving all the time.Frustrating"You are always catching up with fitness when you are out a long time, and it has been the most frustrating thing to have to watch when you know you cannot play.He added on the defensive dilemmas: "It is difficult to say what has changed, but as defenders we definitely need to work a lot harder, get the team spirit up and prove what we can do."We must stick together, then the luck and confidence will come back. Then games will start to go our way."Agger has also lifted lid on the determined efforts he has put in over recent months in an effort to reach peak condition."It is always difficult when you are injured and on the sidelines for a long while, I found it hard. But I set myself a target date to return and I have worked hard to reach it," he said."I never had any doubts that the back problem would not be solved, everyone knew what was wrong."Now it takes time for me to get back to the levels of fitness and performance that I had beforehand. But I am working hard to achieve that, and the only way is to play games."I am doing extra training in the gym doing work to strengthen my back, that will help me return to my best quicker, to get the touch back."I am working hard in the gym now to strengthen and to avoid further injuries."

Source: SKY_Sports