Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish admits it's a big boost to have Glen Johnson again available.

The England defender made his first start of the season against Norwich on Saturday after recovering from a hamstring problem which had previously restricted his appearances in 2011-12 to just a nine-minute run out against Stoke last month.

"It's great to have him back," said Dalglish. "It's a wee bit unfortunate on Martin Kelly that Glen went in and played, but it just shows you the quality of people we have in the squad and that's what we want.

"Glen certainly did well and it might have been a wee bit of a risk to put him back in as early as that, but he had around 65 minutes at Ibrox (against Rangers) and that helped him.

"We're delighted to see him back and also have a wee bit of heavy heart for Kells as well."