Jurgen Klopp has insisted that only he will decide when Mamadou Sakho returns to Liverpool action.
Sakho last featured for the Reds during their Merseyside derby win over Everton in April and has seen his start to the season hampered by an Achilles problem.
With Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip developing a good understanding at the heart of defence, the France international’s prospects have become increasingly limited.
And despite planning to ring the changes for Liverpool’s EFL Cup tie at Derby County on Tuesday, Klopp is refusing to consider handing Sakho a run-out just yet.
He said: “He’s still working but being match fit is a big difference, that’s all.
“We have to make a few sessions, then it’s not about how the player feels, it’s how I feel about how close the players are. It needs time.
“It’s a long, long time since he didn’t play. All the others didn’t have that long a break.
“It makes more sense that we really use the time and that’s what we’re working on.”