Alisson Becker has revealed he defied Liverpool doctors who insisted he faced long spell on sidelines with injury
The Brazilian who made a surprise comeback to Jurgen Klopp 's starting XI for Saturday's win over Sheffield United opened up on how he was so determined to come back from a shoulder injury earlier than planned.
Alisson, of Christian faith, explained his prayers were answered by returning way ahead of schedule and cutting his recovery time in half.
The Liverpool goalkeeper was initially being tipped to stay sidelines for at least a month.
"I pray a lot! It is good to be back," Alisson said When asked ahead of the Reds' Tuesday Champions League tie --- how he was able to recover so quickly.
"First of all I'm really happy. I tried to give my best and I have top physios on my side helping me as well to accelerate the recovery process.
"As soon as the doctor told me four to six weeks I told him: 'No doc, we go to two or three weeks maximum," and he agreed with me.
"Then we just went for it and yeah I'm really happy to be back. I just want to thank the physios, the fitness staff, the doctors and goalie coaches who helped me in this process."
Alisson missed three matches due to the injury with second-choice Adrian taking his place in between the sticks and following the 2-1 victory at the weekend manager Klopp expressed his delight in having his No 1 back.
"Adrian did really well, but getting Ali back is obviously a pretty big, big boost for all of us," said Klopp.
"It was nearly three weeks he was out, and it feels like we had 15 games in between!
"I was really happy when he gave the green light and said "yes, I'm ready" because it was his decision.
"I cannot make the decision for him whether he feels pain when he bounces on the ground or whatever. It was his decision and he said thumbs up."