Liverpool Boss Rafael Benitez Hails Miracle Cure

By Andrew Southwick

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has hailed the clinic that has got four of his top men fit for Saturday's crunch Premier League encounter with Manchester City.

Benitez defended the use of a controversial Serbian clinic to get Glen Johnson, Fabio Aurelio, Yossi Benayoun and Albert Riera all fit.

The Belgrade clinic is run by physiotherapist Mariana Kovacevic, and the unusual treatment involves massaging with a placenta cream.

All four are now in contention for the visit of Manchester City, and Tuesday's vital Champions League clash with Debrecen which has clearly buoyed the Reds boss.

"We knew of other players at Premier League clubs who have been to Belgrade for treatment with this lady, and we were made aware that it was very effective," Benitez told the Press Association.

"[Manchester City's Pablo] Zabaleta told Riera about it.

"She [Kovacevic] has been working for seven years with top-class sportsmen, not just footballers. So she has the experience.

"We felt it was a good opportunity to send some of our players. We sent two, Benayoun and Riera and they came back and started training straight away.

"So we decided to send two more, Johnson and Aurelio, and the same thing has happened. They have been training and all four will be in the squad against City.

"Arsenal's Robin van Persie went earlier, but now there are several more top players who are going to have treatment in the same way.

"City have sent two, [Vincent] Kompany and Zabaleta beforehand, and they were playing within days.

"There have been no injections, it is a placenta cream applied with a [massage] machine that creates waves of pressure."

He added: "We sent our players, and Van Persie was there. Kompany and Zabaleta have also been there, and we have been made aware of the success of this treatment over several years.

"Many top players have been going there for seven years, it has been successful and I believe it is safe.

"It is good for specific injuries, doctors have explained the treatment and the components of the cream that is used. We are happy with it.

"We checked it out when we became aware of the different players who had been there. I must admit we have been surprised with how well it has worked.

"It means we have players available and training that we expected to be out for several weeks. Can we guarantee that they are fully fit? We will see, but they have trained with the rest of the team for three days and they are OK."