In Today's Paper:


Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso is confident he will be fit to face West Ham in Saturday's FA Cup final - despite his ankle injury.English football's showpiece occasion will come just six days after Alonso was carried off on a stretcher against Portsmouth.

The Spain international fell awkwardly on his right ankle when jumping for a ball in the first half of the 3-1 victory at Fratton Park on Sunday.


He was carried off on a stretcher but later returned to the dug-out walking unaided. Alonso had scans at Liverpool's Melwood training ground on Monday which revealed ligament damage. However, the 24-year-old remains optimistic he will be ready to play a full part at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

Follow up:

"I don't feel bad and I hope it's not a serious injury," said Alonso.
"When it happened, I was very worried but now I feel more optimistic. I'm feeling very positive about my chances of being fit for Saturday.
"I will try to stay calm and wait."

Liverpool spokesman Ian Cotton said the club's medical staff would now be working intensively to get the key midfielder fit for Saturday.

"A scan has confirmed that Xabi has an ankle ligament sprain," he said.
"He'll now receive intensive treatment at Melwood and we are hopeful he will be available for the FA Cup final."

Liverpool were pipped to second place in the Premiership by Manchester United but despite that disappointment Alonso has been heartened by how the team has moved on since their surprise Champions League victory last season.

"We can be happy because we've improved a lot and we're a much more solid team. But we don't want to stop now, we want to keep progressing," he told the Liverpool Echo.
"Whatever happens next week it's been a good season, but it could still have been even better.
"We wanted to win the World Club Championship and go further in the Champions League but we still have the FA Cup final to look forward to and obviously we're all determined to win it."

Source: Yahoo Sports