The takeover of Liverpool by George Gillett Jr and Tom Hicks may herald a new dawn for the club, but it is unlikely to do so for Harry Kewell.

The winger has not featured for Liverpool since limping out of the FA Cup Final last May and after Rafael BenÍtez, the manager, admitted worryingly yesterday that he has no idea when the injury-jinxed player will take the field again, the Australia star looks increasingly as if he will be the first casualty of the Americans’ £470 million takeover.

Kewell had targeted the Champions League first knock-out round, first-leg tie away to Barcelona on Wednesday for his comeback, but the player’s lengthy rehabilitation process from foot and groin injuries is taking even longer than expected and it is doubtful that he will play for the club again.

Martin Jol, the Tottenham Hotspur head coach, remains a firm admirer of Kewell and, provided that the 28-year-old can prove his fitness, may be willing to offer the player an escape route from Anfield.

BenÍtez has stuck resolutely by Kewell, but while he has sympathy for the player’s plight, the manager remains concerned that a succession of injuries may have taken too great a toll on the winger’s body.

More troublingly, the Spaniard is worried that Kewell, whose most recent appearance was against Croatia for Australia in the World Cup finals in June, has been psychologically scarred by the extent of his injuries because much of the past nine months has been spent on the treatment table in his native Sydney.

“Harry is progressing, but with his situation we can’t say whether it’s one week or two weeks or whatever,” BenÍtez said. “We need to look at it day by day. I could say he could be back for two weeks, but we have to really wait and see.

“We tried to support Harry when he had some problems last season. He was playing really well, but after the World Cup he had another problem. The physios are working on Harry, but now we just need time. We have to wait for him to be close to being fit before we talk to him and give him support on the mental side of playing again.”

While the mental games may prove too much for Kewell, Steven Gerrard does not expect them to be a problem at the Nou Camp next week and urged his teammates yesterday not to fear Barcelona. “We have to go there with confidence,” the Liverpool captain said. “We have to have belief in our ability and we must not spend too much time worrying about Barcelona.

“If you do that you will give yourself nightmares because they are a great side. We know what we are capable of and we know the performance we can come up with on the big occasion. We also know that whatever Barcelona say, they are going to be wary of us.

“We would love to go there and win — we are not a team that goes anywhere to play for a draw. A lot of the lads have plenty of experience of playing in the Nou Camp, so there is no fear factor.” Liverpool have been enjoying a warm-weather training camp in Portugal this week, but it is not only the warm weather that will have improved their mood. Revelations of discontent in the Barcelona dressing-room appear to have played into their hands after it emerged that Samuel Eto’o, the Cameroon forward, refused to appear as a late substitute in the 2-0 win over Racing Santander last weekend.

Eto’o is at loggerheads with Ronaldinho, his teammate, after the Brazil forward accused him of being inconsiderate for refusing to play, although the pair attempted to mask their differences in training yesterday with a public hug. Barcelona also have injury concerns over Lionel Messi, while Eto’o is short of match fitness after four months out.