LIVERPOOL, England (AP) -Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez expects captain Steven Gerrard to be fit in a week after returning from an offseason tour of Europe with a groin injury.
Gerrard will miss Tuesday's friendly against Hertha Berlin, but could return against Villarreal on July 30.
"Steven has a groin problem, it's not serious but he cannot train and he wouldn't be available for this game, so we decided to send him back to Melwood (in Liverpool) for training," Benitez said. "He should be OK in about a week. It's not serious, but there's no sense to keep him here being unable to train or play."
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MANCHESTER, England (AP) - England defender Wes Brown will return Wednesday from Manchester United's tour of South Africa after the death of his pregnant half-sister in England.
Amanda Fallows, 36, died in hospital Saturday. She was about three months pregnant and had a history of heart problems.
Brown, whose father died in February, is in Durban ahead of Tuesday's friendly against the Orlando Pirates.
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BLACKBURN, England (AP) - Blackburn chairman John Williams said two offers to buy David Bentley have failed to meet his valuation of the England winger.
Bids by Tottenham and Aston Villa for the 23-year-old Bentley were rejected, but even if an attractive offer is made, manager Paul Ince will be left to decide whether to accept it.
"We have received two bids but neither have come anywhere close to our valuation which is based in line with how we see the market," Williams said Monday. "We don't want to lose David, but if we do get a bid that meets our valuation then ultimately it comes down to a football decision by Paul.
"David is one year into a four-year contract, but he told us when (manager) Mark Hughes was here that he wanted a move so this doesn't come as a shock to us."
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