After making his comeback from a groin injury during Saturday's 2-1 over Manchester United, Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is hoping to start in the Champions League against Marseille on Tuesday.
After missing England's pair of international fixtures against Andorra and Croatia last week as he overcame a groin operation, Gerrard started Saturday's north-west derby on the bench.
He watched on as his team-mates grappled with their Manchester United counterparts, and entered the fray for the vital last 20 minutes.
The midfielder now feels that he is ready to start a match from the outset, and sees the Velodrome clash as an ideal opportunity for some game time.
Although Gerrard is champing at the bit to be involved, he knows that a decision on his fitness can only be undertaken by his manager Rafael Benitez.
Gerrard told Liverpool's official website: "The manager did the sensible thing with me [on Saturday]. It was hard to sit and watch from the bench, but I'd only had one full training session.
"My heart was saying I was desperate to play, but there are another 40-50 games hopefully this season.
"I wasn't ready to start. I'd been training on my own for the last 10 days. The most I could have played was 20-25 minutes.
"I'll have a few more sessions under my belt before Tuesday's game in Marseille and will be in better shape, but it'll be the manager's decision."
After missing England's pair of international fixtures against Andorra and Croatia last week as he overcame a groin operation, Gerrard started Saturday's north-west derby on the bench.
He watched on as his team-mates grappled with their Manchester United counterparts, and entered the fray for the vital last 20 minutes.
The midfielder now feels that he is ready to start a match from the outset, and sees the Velodrome clash as an ideal opportunity for some game time.
Although Gerrard is champing at the bit to be involved, he knows that a decision on his fitness can only be undertaken by his manager Rafael Benitez.
Gerrard told Liverpool's official website: "The manager did the sensible thing with me [on Saturday]. It was hard to sit and watch from the bench, but I'd only had one full training session.
"My heart was saying I was desperate to play, but there are another 40-50 games hopefully this season.
"I wasn't ready to start. I'd been training on my own for the last 10 days. The most I could have played was 20-25 minutes.
"I'll have a few more sessions under my belt before Tuesday's game in Marseille and will be in better shape, but it'll be the manager's decision."
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