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14:35 GMT, Monday, 21 April 2008 15:35 UK

Lampard and Gerrard in Euro boost

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL FIRST LEG
Date:
Tue 22 April Kick-off: 1945 BST Venue: Anfield
Coverage: Full commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live and on BBC Sport website (UK only), full text coverage on BBC Sport website and mobiles, live on ITV1

Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard

England midfielders Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard will be available for Tuesday's Champions League semi-final clash between Liverpool and Chelsea.

Lampard missed two Chelsea games last week to be at the hospital bedside of his mother, who has pneumonia.

But his agent Steve Kutner said in a statement: "Although still very ill, her condition has now stabilised."

Gerrard has been passed fit for Liverpool after training on Monday following his neck injury.

The Reds skipper missed Saturday's 2-0 win over Fulham because of the problem but is now set to start at Anfield.

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez confirmed Gerrard's fitness at a news conference on Monday.

The Spaniard also made light of rumours that Chelsea could be set to bid for Gerrard for a third time at the end of this season.

Chelsea manager Avram Grant has described him as "the player of the year in England, and maybe in Europe, because of the influence he has on the team".

606: DEBATE
Is all the talk about Gerrard's fitness part of Benitez's grand plan?

Benitez said: "We have enough experience to know that if anyone asks me or Avram about a good player, we will say they're a good player.

"If I was asked about (Didier) Drogba or (Frank) Lampard, I would say that they're a very good player.

"When we played against Inter Milan (in the last 16), people were saying that Inter wanted Gerrard, and hopefully it will be the same in the final against Barcelona or Manchester United.

"Stevie is a fantastic player and he's 100% focused on his career with Liverpool.

"He's fit for the game. Maybe after he's scored the winning goal in the semi-final, maybe he will be worth more."

Lampard is likely to be in the starting XI for the Blues after missing the Premier League matches against Wigan and Everton.

His return is a boost for Grant, with German international midfielder Michael Ballack doubtful because of a hamstring problem.



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Related to this story:

Liverpool v Chelsea (21 Apr 08 |  Europe )
Benitez confident over return leg (21 Apr 08 |  Europe )
Alan Hansen's column (21 Apr 08 |  Europe )
Zenden on Champions League (21 Apr 08 |  Europe )

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