Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has warned that Emre Can will need time to get back to his best after a spell on the sidelines due to an ankle injury.
The Germany international missed Premier League matches against Tottenham, Leicester City and Chelsea after sustaining the injury in Liverpool's 5-0 EFL Cup win over Burton Albion on August 23.
He made his comeback in the same competition as the Reds saw off Derby County 3-0 on Tuesday, making a substitute appearance for the final 33 minutes.
But Klopp feels the versatile midfielder is not at 100 per cent just yet.
"Fitness is not a problem. Emre is a player who has a strong, strong mentality and he can fight. But you saw again it's about rhythm," Klopp told the official Liverpool website.
"You cannot go into a shop and buy rhythm. You need to work for it and that's what we are doing. I'm not rushing it.
"Emre is cool enough and experienced enough. We can use him, that's good. He is back, that's very good. But, of course, I don't know who will play at the weekend and what will happen [before] the weekend.
"The most important [thing] is that the more players I have and the more difficult the choices for me, the better it is for Liverpool."
Marko Grujic made his first Liverpool start against Derby and Klopp was pleased with the midfielder's display.
"Marko had a wonderful [starting XI] debut, really good," Klopp added.
"He is a wonderfully skilled player.
"He would have been an outstanding player already had his defensive abilities been on the same level as his attacking skills, but we are working on it and he is working on it."
