Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez is set to be without captain Steven Gerrard, defender Glen Johnson and Italian midfielder Alberto Aquilani for Saturday's match at Fulham.

Gerrard will miss his third successive match with the groin injury he suffered playing for England against Ukraine earlier this month.

England right-back Glen Johnson is out with a calf problem, while former Roma star Aquilani, who only made his first-team debut at Arsenal in the League Cup on Wednesday, is struggling with a virus.

Benitez told Liverpoolfc.tv: "Gerrard still has a problem with his groin so he won't be available this weekend.

"At this moment he's working with the physios. He has to keep working and we'll decide next week how he progresses.

"Johnson has a small tear in his calf, so we will lose him for maybe one week.

"In terms of fitness Aquilani's doing well. His ankle is coming on well. The problem we have now is that he has a virus, so it will be difficult for him to be available."

Benitez will also give a late fitness test to Spain striker Fernando Torres, who scored against Manchester United last weekend despite being less than 100 percent fit due to a groin injury.

"He is improving. He's been training and working with the physios. We will see if he is a little bit better this weekend," Benitez added.

"It's a difficult situation because if you play games, you often don't have too much time to get fit again."

Reports in England on Friday suggested Gerrard may need surgery and Benitez would not rule out the possibility.

The midfielder is not expected to be fit in time for next week's Champions League tie against Lyon and if there is no improvement after that an operation could be on the cards.

"Gerrard is improving but the next week will be crucial in terms of any decision about what we will do with him," Benitez said.

"We do have an issue if he is not fit for Lyon, it is a crucial time. In three days we will maybe have a better idea.

"I have talked to him, he is working with the medical team and his progress is slow, but we will then have to decide what to do if he is not progressing as quickly as we would hope.

"He has had this problem for some time but when he has a lot of games for his club, as well as the national team, it is not easy to give him a rest."

While Benitez won't criticise England in public, he is privately unhappy that Fabio Capello's staff didn't send Gerrard home after he sustained the injury.

"Steven picked up this injury while playing for England. He lasted only until half-time of the game (in Ukraine)," Benitez said.

"He rested for two days and then had the same problem in his next training session for England.

"We rested him for one game and then he lasted just 25 minutes of the next match, against Lyon. Since then he has not been able to train or play.

"We will try to manage this differently in the future but we always have the same problem, that he wants to play in every match.

"And that applies to England as well. It is very positive, it is a fine mentality, but maybe we should be looking at the right way to handle a problem that continues to cause him trouble."