Liverpool manager Arne Slot has warned there will be no quick fix as pre-season signing Federico Chiesa looks to regain his best form following a lengthy injury lay-off.
The Italy forward played the second half of holders Liverpool's 2-1 League Cup quarter-final win at Southampton on Wednesday, having been sidelined for almost three months.
The 27-year-old has managed just four appearances since moving to Anfield from Juventus in a deal which could eventually be worth £12.5 million ($15.7 million).
But Slot was encouraged by what he saw at St Mary's as he challenged Chiesa to compete for a place in the Premier League leaders' forward line with Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota.
"I think what I saw is what you can expect," said Slot. "If a player is out for five or six months you cannot expect (too much). I saw ups and downs.
"I saw some really good moments and I saw some moments where I felt like, 'OK, you can do better than this.' For me, that's completely normal if a player has been out for so long."
The Dutch manager, whose side prevailed on the south coast through goals from Nunez and Harvey Elliott, added: "To get him back to his best is not easy. But it was good to see that he showed some quality already.
"But it's the same for him like the youngsters, it's not enough to play at this level, you have to compete with Mo Salah, Cody Gakpo, Lucho (Diaz), Darwin and Diogo.
"But it's good to see that he's back and that he had a few good moments in the game."