Dalglish playing it safe

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish says key duo Steven Gerrard and Andy Carroll will not be rushed back from injury.

Gerrard is returning from groin surgery while record Carroll is on his way back from a thigh injury ahead of Saturday’s trip to West Brom.

Dalglish said: “We’ll be patient and Andy will be ready when he’s ready.

“His 60 minutes for England [when he scored in Wednesday’s friendly draw with Ghana] was useful and it would not have been as good to play him for more than that.”

“We’ll have a look at Gerrard because he’s recovered really well from surgery. We’ll see how he is but certainly he’s done a lot of training this week.”

“It was a great milestone for Andy Carroll to score his first England goal in midweek. He’s got a bit to go until he gets to match fitness but he’s here for five and a half years not a few months.”

The West Brom trip will see Dalglish’s side come up against former manager Roy Hodgson for the first time since he left Liverpool in January.

Hodgson has enjoyed relative success since taking over at The Hawthorns after a tricky spell in charge of Liverpool.

Dalglish said: “Roy’s brought his own style to West Brom like I have done here.”

“Everybody knows what we can expect and they have played games that have shown the way they play and it is up to us to be better than them on the day.”

“They were tough to beat when we played them at home. They played very well and I think we beat them 1-0 but it was a difficult game.”

Luis Suarez (groin) and Jonjo Shelvey (knee) are also in doubt for the clash.

Defender Fabio Aurelio (hamstring) is definitely out.