If absence truly did make the heart grown fonder Harry Kewell would be one of the most beloved footballers who ever lived. Since the summer of 2006, he has made only five appearances for Liverpool, all of them as a substitute. This attendance record might be used as a charge sheet by those who want to convict the 29-year-old of a squandered career.

The accusation would be unfair. Contempt for him reached a peak of injustice when the Australian went off in the 23rd minute of the 2005 Champions League final, with his side 1-0 down to Milan. He was booed from the pitch by his own supporters, who might have been contrite upon learning that he had torn an adductor muscle. Vivid as that episode was, it does not really typify Kewell's relationship with Liverpool followers.

He is popular and his emergence from the bench was one of the few events that perked up the visiting fans in the goalless draw with Blackburn at Ewood Park on Saturday. Nonetheless, those observers and the Australia international himself cannot avoid being struck by the peculiarity of this career.

After a productive showing at the start of the 2006 World Cup, for instance, he was sidelined by an ailment first described as gout before the diagnosis was corrected to septic arthritis, a bacterial infection.

Kewell is in danger of adding more to the medical lore of the game than he is to its conventional history. His contract with Liverpool expires at the end of this season and reasons for making another offer to a man who will then be nearing his 30th birthday are debatable.

Unexpectedly, it is Rafael Benitez, the arch-pragmatist, who has displayed a marked commitment to Kewell. Under the Spaniard's regime, he has featured in the finals of the Champions League (2005 and 2007), the FA Cup and the League Cup.

On that evidence, Kewell, in peak condition, is more of a mainstay than a luxury to Benitez. The manager knows that the attacker is still short of perfect condition but characterises him as an impact player who can be introduced from the substitutes' bench.

Once, a player with Kewell's stuttering appearance record would have been cut loose and left to find himself another line of work. As it is, managers are highly averse to dispensing with anyone of his ability, equipped as he is to be playmaker as much as winger. Benitez is evidently tempted to have him on the bench for tonight's game with Besiktas.

"He was very good when he came on against Blackburn and he was good in training," said the Spaniard yesterday, "but it depends on what other players we have available."

Benitez, with signings such as Yossi Benayoun and Ryan Babel, has been looking for the flair that is far from a luxury now that Liverpool know they must break down Besiktas tonight if they are to survive in this season's Champions League.

Kewell, in theory, offers just such style and perhaps negotiations will be opened to keep him at Anfield. There is even a chance, too, that a moment will come this evening when they turn beseechingly to the Australian.