Smicer: Road to recovery.

Vladmir Smicer finally made his Liverpool comeback after six months out recovering from a knee operation - but the Anfield club are playing down injury doubts over striker Neil Mellor. Mellor was pulled out of a reserve team match at Aston Villa on Saturday with a knee injury, but it is not believed to be a major problem. One of the reasons Liverpool would not consider allowing Mellor to leave during the transfer window was that they need cover for European games.