And the hits just keep on coming. The breaking news is that John Carew is the latest name on the casualty list with a torn calf that will keep him out for three weeks.

Curiously, the Birmingham Mail, in an exclusive, say that the injury occurred “during a challenge with Brad Friedel during a training ground practice match yesterday afternoon”. What’s odd about that is the official site published an article this morning entitled “Houllier looking for Carew to terrorise top-flight defences“.

Whoops! What we have here is a failure to communicate.

The most unfortunate part of that piece on the official site is the less than fantastic assessment of Nathan Delfouneso, the only one of five recognised strikers available. The article reveals that Houllier was considering allowing Delfouneso to go out on loan for a month, like Curtis Davies, until Heskey’s injury ruled that option out.

Gerard Houllier
I explained to him that it is not possible for us. I said if I could give him maybe one month’s loan like Curtis then I would have done that, but now it is not possible.

He’s very young. You’ve got to be patient with the young, but I think he needs to be a man with muscle if you know what I mean. It is a mental thing. He doesn’t have to bulk up. He just needs to be a bit stronger to withstand the pressure of pushing and shoving and things like that.

He’s younger than Barry, Ciaran and Marc, but he trains with the pros every day. He’s not with the reserves, he’s with us and he’ll be travelling.

I wouldn’t go betting any large sums of money on Delfouneso starting at Craven Cottage, but either way, he needs an arm around his shoulder and his confidence boosted sharpish, we need him hungry to grab whatever opportunity he’s handed and prove his mettle.

UPDATE: It’s as confirmed as I believe it can be, Delfouneso will start against Fulham. This is exactly why I don’t gamble.