Soccer:Roy Hodgson has reiterated his hope that Javier Mascherano will stay at Liverpool after confirming the midfielder will miss the Europa League tie against Trabzonspor. The Anfield boss also insists Ryan Babel has a future at the club despite rumours he's a target for Wolfsburg.
Mascherano is looking to quit Liverpool for personal reasons but the club have yet to receive a suitable offer for the Argentina captain. There had been suggestions that Mascherano could be left out of Thursday's European encounter against Trabzonspor to ensure he was not cup-tied ahead of any potential transfer.
Hodgson admits the 26-year-old will miss the game, but only because he picked up an injury during the 1-1 draw with Arsenal which has also left Mascherano doubtful for next Monday's Premier League game against Manchester City.
"Javier will always be in my plans until the day comes when he leaves the club and for me that will be a long time in the future if I can get my wish," said Hodgson. "But he's injured at the moment and won't play tomorrow. He came off after about 80 minutes on Sunday with a slight pull in his calf muscles and has only just started to jog today.
"The worry for us is that he won't be fit for Monday."
Hodgson also revealed Daniel Agger will not face Trabzonspor, saying: "Daniel got concussed so he's not doing that well. We're three days after the incident and he's still suffering from concussion and has got no memory of the game.
"We can only hope that it settles down in time for Monday's match with Manchester City. There was never any question he'd be fit for tomorrow."
The injury to Mascherano could lead to Christian Poulsen making his Liverpool debut, although Hodgson admits the Denmark international is not fully fit.
"He's in the squad. I haven't picked the team yet, but he's in the squad and there's a chance he'll appear tomorrow. We'll only find out when he plays if he's fit. He's only played 20-25 minutes in a friendly match for Juventus.
"He's done a lot of physical training so in that respect he's right up there with the rest of the players, but he hasn't played a lot of football and so is not match fit."
New Wolfsburg boss Steve McClaren was rumoured to be lining up a move for Babel, who has struggled to establish himself during three years at Anfield.
Birmingham have also been strongly linked with a bid for the 23-year-old, but Hodgson has played down the latest bout of speculation.
The Reds boss says there has been no offer from Wolfsburg and he also suggested that the winger has a role to play in his plans during this season.
"No, there's none there," said Hodgson of the supposed bid. "I'm afraid we're in the realm of speculation.
"You know better than I how many stories you're getting every day, and many of them are unfounded and many are attempts from people to get their players in the spotlight.
"We've had no written or formal offers for Ryan Babel and he's a player who I'm expecting to play for us."
Defender Martin Skrtel, meanwhile, has signed a two-year extension to his Anfield contract. The Slovakia international had two years remaining on his previous deal but has now committed to the club until 2014.
His decision to re-sign is further good news for Hodgson after pledges of allegiance from star pair Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres over the summer.
"Before I came here a lot of people thought I wasn’t good enough to play for Liverpool, but I think I have shown I am,” Skrtel said this morning. “I’m happy to try and carry on giving good performances and doing my best for the club.”
Skrtel, 25, joined the Reds from Zenit St Petersburg in January 2008. He has since established himself as one of the club’s first-choice central defenders alongside Jamie Carragher and Agger.Hodgson also welcomed Australia goalkeeper Brad Jones to the club from Middlesbrough today. The €2.8 million deal has been rubber-stamped after the paperwork was completed.
The 28-year-old keeper, who qualifies as a 'home-grown' player, made 57 league appearances for Middlesbrough.
He joins Liverpool as back-up to first-choice goalkeeper Jose Reina at Anfield. with Diego Cavalieri set to sign for Serie A side AC Cesena in search of first-team football.
Cavalieri will, however, be in the squad to face Trabzonspor after Jones arrived to late to be registered.