Alberto Aquilani set for first start against Fiorentina

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“He will start tomorrow (Tuesday). He will do a proper warm-up on his own.”

Alberto Aquilani of Liverpool goes through a training session at the club's training ground

Rafael Benitez today confirmed Alberto Aquilani will make his first Liverpool start in Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Fiorentina at Anfield.

An ankle injury has meant the Italy international has been restricted to just three cameo appearances since his summer arrival from Roma.

However, confident Aquilani’s fitness concerns are now firmly behind him, Benitez is ready to hand the Reds’ new No.4 his full debut.

The boss told Liverpoolfc.tv: “He will start tomorrow (Tuesday). He will do a proper warm-up on his own, and also with the fitness coach, so we will take care of him and he will be ready.”

Aquilani has remained on the bench for Liverpool’s last two outings against Everton and Blackburn Rovers.

“We decided we couldn’t take any risks with him,” explained the boss. “It wouldn’t have been good for him or us.

“We were always considering playing him (against Blackburn), but when the game is so tight and physical, sometimes it can be worse for the player to play for 10-15 minutes.

“We wanted to protect him and give him the best opportunity to play well. Hopefully Wednesday will be the day.

“He has quality, good vision and is dynamic. It is a question of match fitness, but I think we will see some of these things against Fiorentina.

“If he can carry on training properly and play some games, we will see his quality.

“He is a player with experience at international level, which is important, but he is in a new country with different teammates, so he has to settle down and will need time.

“Each individual is different, but normally players need time.”

Liverpool