Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has revealed that he did not consider starting Daniel Sturridge in Sunday's 2-1 defeat to Manchester United in the Premier League.
The £12m signing from Chelsea came off the bench at Old Trafford to pull a goal back for his side against their rivals.
However, the Merseysiders were unable to add a second as they were beaten for a third time in six matches.
When asked if he had thought about naming Sturridge in his starting XI, Rodgers told the club's official website: "Not really. I've been assessing him in training.
"He's coming back and sometimes you can rush a player back too quickly and break them. I didn't want to do that with Daniel.
"He is certainly getting there. He hadn't played for a while or trained, so it's just a case of building him into it. Another good week's training and hopefully he'll be fine and fit."
The defeat has left eighth-placed Liverpool nine points off the Champions League places.
