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James Milner is hoping that captain Jordan Henderson will be fit to take back the Liverpool armband for the Europa League final.

Stand-in skipper Milner led by example as the Reds stunned Villarreal with a 3-0 triumph at Anfield .

It would be a source of great pride if he leads Jurgen Klopp's side out against Sevilla in Basel on May 18.

However, Milner wants Henderson to win his race against time. The England midfielder was sidelined for six weeks when he limped off against Borussia Dortmund with knee ligament damage a month ago.

“It's just great to be through,” Milner said.

“Hopefully Hendo will have a chance of being fit for the final. If he is then he will captain the team in the final. We'd love him to be back for it.

“If he's not it's always a great honour for me to captain this football club.”

Thursday night was Liverpool's 14 game in the Europa League this season and Milner says there's a collective desire to finish the job off in Basel.

It will be Liverpool's 12 European final but their first since 2007.

“It's been a long road to get there,” Milner added.

“You play a lot of games in the Europa. I think back to the frozen pitches in the group stages.

“We've beaten a lot of good teams along the way and to win it we're going to have to beat another top team.

“We have given ourselves another opportunity to win a trophy. It will be our second final of the season and hopefully we can finish the season with a piece of silverware.

“A season of transition is difficult. To get to two finals would be okay but it would be nice to win silverware.

“This is a club used to winning trophies, it expects success and that's why we're all here.

“Major finals is where this club is used to being and hopefully we can deliver more success.”