Fabio Borini has vowed to put his injury troubles behind him and play a key role for Liverpool in the absence of Luis Suarez.
Borini, a £10.5 million signing from Roma last July, came on as a substitute to score his first Premier League goal as Newcastle were beaten 6-0 on Saturday.
The Italian forward has struggled to make an impact during a first season at Anfield truncated by injury.
But with leading scorer Suarez banned for 10 games after biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic, Borini is set to play a key role in manager Brendan Rodgers' squad.
Daniel Sturridge, the club's only other fit senior striker, is certain to start against Everton next Sunday, but Borini hopes to be involved too.
He told the Liverpool Echo: "I can play a big part now not because Luis is suspended but because I am back fit. Whether Luis is available or not, we all need to focus on doing our jobs.
"Next weekend will be my first derby here. But I've played in big derbies in Italy so I know the feeling. The atmosphere in those games was always very hot and I am sure here will be the same."
Borini missed three months of the season after breaking his foot against Manchester United in late September.
And having fought his way back to fitness, he was then ruled out for a further two months because of a dislocated shoulder suffered towards the end of a 5-0 league win over Swansea in mid-February.
It was initially thought that the shoulder injury would force the 22-year-old to miss the rest of the season, but his determination to fight back led to him making his return against Newcastle.
The striker said: "There was a lot of emotion after scoring that goal. It had been a long injury for me and a long wait to score in the Premier League. It came so soon after my first touch and it made it even better that I scored in front of our fans.
"I thanked them with my celebration because they have always been good to me and helped me through some tough times.I put my thumbs up to the bench to say thank you to Brendan and all the staff for the work they have done with me.
"It's been hard. When I hurt my shoulder, they said my season could be over. But I fought back as I really needed to come back earlier. I took the minimum possible to get back training which was eight weeks instead of 12. Some people probably didn't think I could make it but I fought back."
ESPNFC: Soccer Borini hopes to put injury woe behind him
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