Injury boost for Reds

Summer signings Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa are fit for the Barclays Premier League visit of Wigan Athletic on Saturday, but Phil Jones could be sidelined for up to 10 more weeks.
There was speculation van Persie and Kagawa could miss the game after picking up strains on international duty in midweek, but Sir Alex has confirmed they will be available to face the Latics.
The news is not so good for Jones, who recently underwent surgery on a knee injury sustained in training, but Chris Smalling is not far off a return to action. Meanwhile, Darren Fletcher has been included in the squad as he continues his recovery from illness.
"On the injury front, everyone's fit, apart from the ones we know about – Jones and Smalling," said Sir Alex at his Friday press conference.
"Jones was a bad blow for us. He got an injury in training last weekend and he'll be out for eight to 10 weeks.
"We expect Smalling to be back training by the end of the month. There's a little bit of comfort in that sense, given our centre-back situation. But with Jonny [Evans] back we're in a better position than we were a couple of weeks ago.
"Darren's in the squad tomorrow, simply because I think it will give him a boost. It's a chance to progress. At this moment in time everything's going fine for him."
The Reds boss expressed his concern about the distances his players travelled with their respective countries in midweek, with Japan's Kagawa, Ecuador's Antonio Valencia and Mexico's Javier Hernandez
all involved in long-haul trips for World Cup qualifiers.
"You always have concerns about players travelling in international breaks – we had Chicharito, Valencia and Kagawa," he said.
"They've all done it before, although with Shinji we don't know exactly how he reacts to travelling back from long distances. Hopefully he'll be okay."