Mario Balotelli hit back at those criticising his absence for Liverpool 's FA Cup quarter-final win over Blackburn Rovers due to illness by attempting to prove he had a high temperature . Robbie Savage branded Balotelli 'pathetic ' for missing the game , four days after he withdrew himself from the Liverpool squad for their trip to Arsenal following a 'slight knock ' suffered in training . Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers revealed the £16million striker travelled with the squad to Blackburn , but that he felt too ill to take part after staying over in the hotel with his team-mates . Mario Balotelli responded to Robbie Savage 's labelling of the Liverpool striker as 'pathetic ' Balotelli was not included in the Liverpool squad to face Arsenal or Blackburn Rovers this week . Brendan Rodgers revealed Balotelli withdrew himself from the squad on Saturday and fell ill on Wednesday . Liverpool scraped through to a Wembley date with Aston Villa in the FA Cup semi-finals thanks to Philippe Coutinho 's strike . With 20 minutes remaining at Ewood Park , the Brazilian fired the ball across goal and past Rovers keeper Simon Eastwood . Click here to read Ian Ladyman 's report . BT Sport pundit and former Blackburn midfielder Savage said : 'Pathetic is n't it ? You 're going to miss an FA Cup quarter-final ? ' I do n't know how unwell he is , but to miss an FA Cup quarter-final when you 're feeling a bit ill ? Nonsense . I would have to be really , really ill to miss that game . ' Balotelli responded by posting a photograph of himself on Instagram , holding a thermometer reading 38.7 Celsius — 1.7C above 'normal ' body temperature . Philippe Coutinho fires home the winner to send Liverpool into the FA Cup semi-final against Reading . Coutinho celebrates with his team-mates as Liverpool keep their dreams of winning a trophy alive . Mario Balotelli reported a temperature of 38.7C ( 101.66F ) which is indeed above the normal body temperature of 37C ( 99.5F ) . The Liverpool striker may also have felt hot , sweaty , thirsty , very uncomfortable and slightly hungry . He may also have felt tired . Should body temperature reach 40C ( 104F ) , the person will be dehydrated and may suffer from vomiting and dizziness . With the snap , Balotelli wrote : 'Nothing stop me to watch my team winning . At least this time you know the real reason I am out . Miss the pitch so much # unluckyseason # YNWA # illbeback [ sic ] . ' Rodgers planned to use Balotelli for the FA Cup tie , but admitted it was at the final moment his misfiring striker became unavailable . 'Mario travelled with us . He trained well , [ but ] fell ill last night , ' Rodgers said ahead of the match which ended 1-0 to Liverpool . 'He stayed overnight with us in the hotel , [ but ] woke up still not feeling great . The doctors ' advice was to send him back . ' Balotelli 's absence follows the Italian missing last Saturday 's 4-1 defeat by Arsenal . The striker did not travel to the Emirates for the crunch clash after sustaining a hamstring injury in training on Friday . Rodgers said at the time : 'He trained on Friday afternoon with the team and he took a slight knock to his knee and he deemed himself not able to travel . ' I 'm not a medic . He felt it was too sore to travel . The medical staff have looked at it . It was just something that he himself did n't feel comfortable enough to travel . ' But Balotelli was reportedly later spotted with a group of friends at a private table at Manchester nightclub One Central Street . BT Sport pundit Savage feels it shows Balotelli 's lack of determination to be absent for the FA Cup tie .
Mario Balotelli missed Liverpool 's 4-1 defeat against Arsenal on Saturday . Balotelli was absent again at Blackburn due to illness , confirmed the club . BT Sport pundit Philippe Coutinho 's branded Balotelli 'pathetic ' as a result . Balotelli responded by showing a thermometer reading 38.7C ( 101.66F ) The Liverpool striker used the hashtags # unluckyseason and # illbeback . Liverpool beat Blackburn 1-0 thanks to Robbie Savage winner .