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Clarke expects Carragher to be fit for Chelsea

Jamie Carragher kept Fernando Torres quiet when Liverpool visited Chelsea last season © PA Photos

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Liverpool assistant manager Steve Clarke has confirmed that Jamie Carragher could return to first-team action for this weekend's Premier League trip to Chelsea.

Carragher, 33, has missed the Reds' past two games against West Brom and Swansea with a calf injury that forced him out of the Carling Cup victory over Stoke last month.

But the former England defender is back in training this week after recovering from the problem - with Clarke insisting he has a chance of a playing at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

"Jamie has joined in training over the last couple of days and looked good," Clarke said. "We just made sure he took his time, recovered from it, and he's trained well these past couple of days.

"He'll be in contention for the weekend if there are no mishaps between now and the game."

Carragher himself was coy on his chances of being involved against Chelsea - the first of three huge games in a row for Kenny Dalglish's side. Following the trip to Stamford Bridge, the Reds welcome Manchester City to Anfield and the return to west London for a Carling Cup quarter-final against Chelsea - but Carragher admitted he was happy at the timing of the recent international break.

"It's the best time to be injured because you don't miss too many games," Carragher said. "It's down to the manager and the coaching staff, but once I'm back with the lads, I'm back for the squad, the team or bench - whatever it may be."

Meanwhile, Carragher's defensive partner Daniel Agger says he feels his body "might not have been built to play football", with the Denmark international having featured in less than 50 per cent of Liverpool's games since arriving at the club from five Brondby years ago.

"It's not perfect, but it will probably never be that," Agger said of his injury-plagued time at Anfield. "My body might not have been built to play football. You have to learn to live with it and I have done that."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.