Borini: I'll be back soon
Recovering forward Fabio Borini has revealed he is feeling strong on the comeback trail from a foot injury - and has picked his preferred opponents for the last 32 of the Europa League.
The Italian suffered a fracture in October which required surgery, forcing him to watch from the sidelines as the Reds downed Udinese to progress to the knockout stages on Thursday.
But the 21-year-old is confident that his recuperation is progressing well and he will be available to play his part in the side's ongoing European adventure from February.
"I'm quite good now - working hard every day," Borini told Liverpoolfc.com at Stadio Friuli, where Liverpool clinched a 1-0 victory over Udinese.
"The foot is very good and on Monday I see the surgeon to sort out the screws and see if they are taken out or not. On 26 December, I'll be back in Liverpool.
"I feel strong, I'm working a lot on the other muscles. I'll start working on my ankle and foot, which is better, and my calf is a lot better. The foot always responds very well so that's confident."
Borini stressed the importance of the Europa League to Brendan Rodgers' developing team and expressed his wish to face an Italian outfit in the next round - with Inter Milan and Napoli potential opponents.
The former Chelsea and Swansea man added: "It's always special when I'm back in Italy to see my team play. I feel a little bit sad watching my teammates play but I'll support them.
"I'll be able to play and it will be a great experience for us as a young team for Liverpool to be one of the last teams in Europe. We could meet Italian teams, which would be great."