LIVERPOOL -- Jurgen Klopp has jokingly dismissed the idea of picking Steven Gerrard for Wednesday's Capital One Cup quarterfinal at Southampton -- but has praised his influence since returning to train with Liverpool.
The former Reds captain is keeping up his fitness at Melwood before he returns to preseason training with Major League Soccer side LA Galaxy in January.
Gerrard, 35, began training with the club on Monday, and manager Klopp feels that his presence is already having a positive influence.
Asked how the midfielder was faring back at the club, Klopp said: "He won't play!
"It was good. I told to the team before training that it's completely normal for a player to come back like this.
"If you are a player like Steven Gerrard has been at Liverpool, then the door has always to be open.
"It's an important sign for players that if you behave like him for, I don't know, 50 years like him, then it is easy to come back."
Gerrard did not quite spend 50 years at Liverpool, although he was on their books from the age of nine.
He spent 26 years with the club, 17 of them as a first-team player, before leaving in May to begin life with LA Galaxy.
Klopp added: "Everybody had a smile on their faces when they saw Stevie. They can help him and he can help us."
Gerrard will not be involved against Southampton, but captain Jordan Henderson and striker Daniel Sturridge are likely to play a part from the bench after returning from injury as substitutes as Liverpool beat Swansea 1-0 in the Premier League on Sunday.
Midfielder Henderson played for the first time since August after recovering from two foot injuries, while Sturridge had been out of action since bruising a knee in mid-October.
Klopp said: "No physical reaction, which was good news and they did their job. That was not easy in the last minutes of the game, and they did it.
"But we cannot ignore the fact that there could be extra-time against Southampton. I'm sure 120 minutes would be too much.
"We don't have to think about starting them, though."