It was an unfortunate choice of words, given all that has come before.
Brendan Rodgers said yesterday that Luis Suarez - ready to come back after serving his 10-match ban - was "champing at the bit" to return.
The Uruguayan, of course, received his suspension for doing just that, when he took a bite out of Branislav Ivanovic's arm back in April. But Rodgers was confident that the striker would be physically and mentally ready for action.
He was less sure when pressed on whether Suarez had learned from his mistakes. "We will see, we will see," was his response. "I am not going into too much detail on him but he has had support in every way. It is not just technical and tactical development here, we look at physical elements and how we can improve psychological state. He has worked tirelessly on every aspect.
Suarez's return will not be plain sailing. Manchester United await at Old Trafford tomorrow in the Capital One Cup and, while he has played a handful of internationals and some behind-closed-doors friendlies at the club's Melwood training ground, his last regular stretch of competitive football came to an end on April 21.
Rodgers has no doubt he is ready to return to the team. "How he has prepared himself over the last number of weeks has been fantastic," he said. "He's really champing at the bit to help the team. Everyone knows the depth of his quality and his attitude.
"He is non-stop and I am sure once he gets back on the field again he will show what he has shown since he's been here, which is top quality. It is what we expect because that is the type of character he is."
Despite his actions during the summer, in which he pushed for a move to Arsenal, Rodgers believes the Liverpool fans will forgive their best player, and brightest hope of finishing fourth and qualifying for the Champions League.
"The great thing about this football club," said Rodgers, "is that no matter what a player has done - or supposedly said - the supporters are 150% behind every player that pulls on that shirt and they back them to the hilt."
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