Houllier said: "Over the last year we had Didi Hamann out for nine months so it's good to see him back.
"When you have a world class player like Didi showed in the World Cup you want them to play all the games, and when he isn't there we miss him.
"Fortunately he has put the injury behind him now and he is almost ready to return."
How important is Dietmar Hamann to Liverpool?