Kirkland said: "I always seem to have bad luck with injuries at the wrong times. It's been nearly a year since I played for the under-21s after getting injured with a back problem.
"When I then managed to get into the Liverpool team, I picked up the knee injury which ruled me out for the rest of the season. Obviously, there is no good time to get injured, but after what had happened with my back, it came at a dreadful time.
"It's been a long, hard process to get back. Some days you go in and all you can think about is wanting to play again, but you have to go through it. The medical team at Liverpool have been fantastic for me, helping me to come back ahead of schedule.
"These two under-21 games are now a bonus. They've come at a great time and if I do manage to get a couple of games in it will be great. I'm hoping that with the bad run I've had with injuries, I can now put them behind me."
"The boss went with Jerzy at the start of the season and he's been great. I respect that decision and now it looks like I'm going to have to be patient and wait for my chance again. I'm having to do that a lot.
"But you can't get too down or frustrated because people will see that so I try to remain positive and train as hard as I can. It is very difficult being positive all the time because nobody likes sitting on the bench. We all want to play football because that's what this game is all about.
"But you have to try and balance things up and not get too disappointed because you never know when you could be called upon. I've got this chance with the under-21s to show both managers what I can do. Then I'll be going back to Liverpool to push Jerzy again."