Liverpool’s Benteke to undergo scan after hamstring injury

Liverpool striker Christian Benteke has revealed that his father was initially not happy with his decision to take up football professionally.

The Belgium worldwide was substituted at half-time during Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Norwich as a precaution after he complained of a tightness in his muscle and he will miss Wednesday’s Capital One Cup tie against Carlisle at Anfield.

He said: “Christian is going to have an MRI scan today and hopefully they’ll find the problem”.

And assistant manager Gary McAllister confirmed that Liverpool hope to find out today the full extent of the injury.

“Danny came on and it was refreshing to see his performance”, McAllister said. “He’s been working hard at his game”.

Benteke, however, remains a constant thorn in the side of opposition defenders, having won 67% of his aerial duels so far for the Reds; a statistic which will surely bring a smile to the face of the returning Daniel Sturridge, if the Englishman can establish a decent understanding with the Belgian target man.

Despite the concern over Benteke – a £32.5m signing from Aston Villa in July – first-team coach Gary McAllister praised 23-year-old Ings for getting off the mark in his fourth appearance. If you see him every day in training, there is no-one who deserves a goal more than him.

The Scot added: “The medical guys are aware of Daniel’s situation”.

“Even when I’m playing good he says ‘you shouldn’t be doing this and that.’ He pushes me to go forward and tells me ‘now people expect more from you… keep working and keep scoring goals”.