Lucas Leiva, who only returned to full training last week, could make his Liverpool return later this week.
The reds 25 year old midfielder has seen most of 2012 obliterated due to two injuries, but assistant manager Colin Pascoe revealed that he could see some match time towards the end of this week.
“The next step is getting his strength up in training and hopefully he can get 45 minutes in the reserve game on Friday,” said Pascoe.
“But we’ll assess him, see how he is in the next couple of days, and if he feels fine himself, then he could possibly have 45 minutes on Friday.
It’s fantastic to see Lucas back in training.
“He’s a good player and it’s nice to get him back.
“He’s been unfortunate with a lot of injuries. I know that’s part and parcel of football but it can get you down and it’s nice to see Lucas with a smile on his face.
“He’s a great professional. He’s done his recovery and rehab. When you’re injured, you can’t wait to go and play football again and sometimes you can’t see a light at the end of the tunnel, but Lucas has kept his head down, worked hard and he’s looking good in training.”
There was originally some speculation that he could be on the bench in Thursday nights Anfield game against Young Boys, but it appears the management would prefer to him to return in a less competitive fixture.