Aquilani glad to be playing again

The midfielder made his first appearance in a Liverpool shirt in Wednesday's reserve game and that was his first game of any sort since last March. It was a relief for the Italian just to kick a ball again.

"I am happy to have made my debut. It's been a very long time since I last played," said Aquilani.

"Although I only played for 15 minutes tonight, it is good for me and my fitness.

"I know I am not fully fit yet, but I hope to be soon.

"Of course, I cannot wait to make my debut for the first-team now.

"Like every other player, I want to be playing, but the important thing for me now is to keep improving my fitness.

"I don't want to stop now - I want to carry on working hard and improving for a long time.

"I have signed for Liverpool for five years and I want to play here for at least five years."