Rafa Benitez is set to hand Alberto Aquilani his long-awaited full debut in Liverpool's dead rubber UEFA Champions League tie against Fiorentina, but insists that he will remain cautious with the Italian.

Earlier on Tuesday Aquilani's father revealed that his son, a £20million summer capture from Roma, was becoming increasingly frustrated at the lack of pitch time he has been getting, having been injury-free for a month now.

Claudio Aquilani, a paramedic back at the Giallorossi, explained that he did not know why his son was still being overlooked, since he was in desperate need of match fitness, having been out of the game for six months with an ankle injury.

Reds boss Benitez has been criticised in some quarters for using the excuse that the it would be too risky to chance the slight Italian midfielder in potentially feisty battles with physical sides such as Blackburn.

This is the Premier League we're talking about after all, but Rafa maintains he has been right to bed him in gently, and hopes Wednesday's meaningless European clash will be the perfect occasion on which to hand him his first start.

"We will take care of him and he will be ready. We decided we couldn't take any risks with him. It wouldn't have been good for him or us," the Spanish tactician told the Daily Telegraph.

"We wanted to protect him and give him the best opportunity to play well. Hopefully Wednesday will be the day.

"He has quality, good vision and is dynamic. It is a question of match fitness, but I think we will see some of these things against Fiorentina. If he can carry on training properly and play some games, we will see his quality.

"He is a player with experience at international level, which is important, but he is in a new country with different teammates, so he has to settle down and will need time."

Meawhile, Benitez confirmed that Fernando Torres, who has missed the Reds' last five games with a groin injury, will not appear from the outset at Anfield on Wednesday evening, but would likely play a part from the bench.