Benitez not prepared to gamble on Gerrard fitness

RAFAEL BENITEZ played an elaborate game of cloak and danger over the fitness of his captain Steven Gerrard here ahead of tonight’s Champions League showdown with Real Madrid.

Gerrard travelled to the Spanish capital in manager Benitez’s 20-man squad with a huge question mark hanging over his damaged hamstring, and whether he could be risked in the first leg of this last-16 clash at the magnificent Santiago Bernabeu.

With Liverpool’s domestic title challenge hanging by a thread, their continued involvement in the world’s biggest club competition is vital for the rest of their season.