Houllier said: "We need to be cautious with Milan but he is gradually improving. He saw the surgeon this week and was uplifted by the news that he will be back kicking a ball again in the next 10 days.
"I always said it would probably be January before we had him back and that's the case.
"At the time both he and Carra were injured we actually thought it would be Milan who would be back first but he has had to have a longer rehabilitation."