On the eve of the meeting between the two sides, O'Leary droned: "The man has done unbelievably well to be alive now, to have survived what he has gone through.
"Gerard is 54 and I just want him to look at plenty more years to come.
"I've told him this job isn't conducive to coming back after an operation like he's had.
"If you ask me, I believe Gerard will return to Liverpool. But should he? I would love him not to."