Liverpool’s headline transfer window capture, striker Andy Carroll, will have to wait for his red-shirted debut as manager ‘King’ Kenny Dalglish dampened speculation that the 22-year-old was in first-team squad contention for this weekend’s EPL trip to strugglers West Ham United.

Liverpool still lie in a season-high sixth place in the Premiership despite not having played a league game since their 1-1 Anfield draw with Wigan on February 12^th.

And they made steady but dull progress in the Europa League last midweek, grinding out a 0-0 draw in the Czech Republic against Sparta Prague to make them favourites for the tie going into this week’s Anfield second leg.

 

Meanwhile, the bitter legacy of American former co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett continued with Texan Hicks and fellow Americans NESV (now named ‘Fenway Sports Group’) embroiled in a legal dispute over the sale of the club last October.

Kenny Dalglish told Liverpool’s official website that his £35m striker “has still got a bit to go before he’ll be considered for a match.”

The Liverpool supremo claimed that Carroll’s recovery from a thigh injury “has been exactly what we’d anticipated,” adding: “His is close to full training (but) I don’t think he’s quite ready for a game yet.”

Liverpool will be ready for him, however, with their lack of firepower cruelly exposed in Prague as they failed to muster a single shot on target in their 90 minutes against Sparta.

Dalglish claimed: “Circumstances dictated the way we played with the players we had available.”

Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez is ineligible, with previous club Ajax also in the competition. Europa League regular Jonjo Shelvey has been ruled out for three months with a knee tendon injury.

And there were injury concerns during the game when central midfielder Fabio Aurelio strained a muscle.

Dalglish said the injury was “not too bad” but added: “(Central midfield) was the last place we wanted an injury,” referring to Steven Gerrard’s continued absence with a groin injury.

Gerrard is expected to be fit for the West Ham encounter.

Former co-owner Hicks was last week blocked from launching legal action in America over the sale of his stake in the club, which he described at the time as an “epic swindle.”

And both Fenway Sports Group and Reds ex-chairman Martin Broughton have been given court permission to pursue their claims for damages against Hicks for actions during his ill-fated ownership.