Kelly: Lucas helped me through it all
Martin Kelly has revealed how Lucas Leiva's advice and experience helped him deal with the agony of a 13-month injury lay-off.
Kelly is on the verge of completing a full recovery from an ACL rupture of his knee which he sustained in September 2012.
A year previously, Lucas was stretchered from the field at Stamford Bridge after picking up the same injury in the Reds' clash against Chelsea.
So as Kelly began his rehabilitation, Lucas was on hand to offer his teammate the necessary guidance and support.
"Lucas has come back successfully. He had a thigh problem after his ACL injury, so that shows how tough a character he is," Kelly told Liverpoolfc.com.
"He's given me advice in terms of how to take the rehab and how to get over the barrier of throwing yourself back into tackles and getting over the initial injury.
"He's been good with that as a senior player and it's more about dealing with that yourself in the end.
"At a club like Liverpool, you get the support of everyone. As well as your teammates, there's support right through the whole medical staff and the other departments at Melwood.
"They're brilliant. It's been fantastic for me to get back to the physical condition that I'm in now."
Lucas played his first minutes for Brazil in just less than two years on Saturday, when Luiz Felipe Scolari's side were 2-0 winners against South Korea.
The midfielder is delighted to be back in the fold for his national side - and Kelly believes the call-up is testament to his teammate's character and determination.
"He's doing really well at the minute, he's just got his first call back to the Brazil squad and I wish him all the best for that," said Kelly.
"He's the type of character who just gets on with things and so he's the type of person you want in your dressing room.
"You want to be sharing a dressing room with Lucas, because you know that when he pulls the shirt on, like the rest of the lads, he's going to give it 100 per cent."