Tour defence revealed

travelled to South Africa and China on the first two stages of the DHL 2012 Tour. But the 30-year-old is now nearing full fitness and will fly out to Oslo with the European tour squad on Saturday afternoon.

Matches against Valerenga (Sunday 5 August) and Barcelona (Wednesday 8 August) are sold out, while limited tickets remain for the Reds’ final pre-season clash, against Hannover 96, on Saturday 11 August.

More: Chicharito wants trophies not goals | Valencia aims to shine