Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed David de Gea was desperate to play for Manchester United against Liverpool as the goalkeeper made a swift return from injury to be included in the starting XI.
De Gea's chances of featuring in the Old Trafford clash looked to be slim when he hobbled off while playing for Spain against Sweden in a Euro 2020 qualifier at the start of the week.
But the Spaniard has recovered in time to play, after Solskjaer had dropped a hint about the player's availability at his pre-match press conference. The Norwegian was also asked, in a pre-match interview with MUTV, about Anthony Martial's return to the bench and how the striker can make a big difference to the clash with Jurgen Klopp's side.
On De Gea's recovery from a groin injury, "Yeah, he was desperate to play, adamant he was going to make it and, as I said in the press conference on Friday, it wasn't as bad as first feared.
"It looked really bad when he hobbled off, but no muscle damage, which is great for us."
With Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Victor Lindelof back in the United side, having missed the 1-0 defeat to Newcastle through illness and injury respectively, finally looks to be clearing.
Paul Pogba, Luke Shaw and Jesse Lingard are among those sidelined from the Liverpool game, though Martial is fit enough for a place on the bench.
Solskjaer added: "Of course when you've got quality players like David fit, Aaron back, Anthony now available on the bench so he can now come on and hopefully make a difference for us — he's not ready for a full game yet — I think we're looking at brighter times.
"But today is what matters. It's a game where we're looking to cause them problems."
