NICKY Hunt is facing a race to be fit for Saturday's showdown with Liverpool at Anfield.

The Wanderers defender was injured in the dying minutes of England U21s' 2-2 draw with Germany at Hull on Friday.

He was seen in pain clutching his knee, but an early diagnosis by the England physio suggested the injury was no more than a dead leg and he would be available for Tuesday's U21s game against Azerbaijan at Middlesbrough.

Since then, however, there has been some swelling behind the player's knee, and over the weekend he returned to Bolton for further examination by the Wanderers medical staff.

It is too early to say whether he will be fit enough for the Liverpool game, when a victory for Wanderers would lift them ahead of the fifth-placed Anfield outfit as the two sides chase Everton for a coveted Champions League place.

This season, however, Hunt has made rapid recoveries from two injury problems, the first when he suffered ankle bruising against Oldham in the fourth round of the FA Cup, and the second when he dislocated his shoulder against Newcastle.

Sam Allardyce admitted that the 21-year-old defender was a quick healer and the manager will be hoping that is the case again as he prepares to assemble his squad when players return from the various World Cup qualifiers in midweek.

In Saturday's games, three of his players netted goals.

El-Hadji Diouf hit two, and Khalilou Fadiga one in Senegal's 6-1 victory over Liberia, while Stelios, scored for Greece in their 3-1 win over Georgia.

Elsewhere, Jay Jay Okocha continued his recovery from injury with a full game for Nigeria against Gabon, but Jussi Jaaskelainen let in four goals in Finland's 4-3 defeat by the Czech Republic.