"He was frustrated when I took him off but it shows he cares," said Houllier.
I think we were expecting too much from him too quickly after what he went through, and he may take longer to get his fitness back than we thought," said Houllier.
"He showed some good qualities quite quickly when he came back at the start of the season, and we thought then he could sustain those.
"But it will probably be some time yet. He has been out for a year with a serious illness, so you cannot expect him to be back overnight.
"I am sure he will come back to his best though, and as soon as he does it will be like a new signing for us.
"But at the moment he has to live with how things are and it is not easy as he has not been in this situation before."