Liverpool youngster Samed Yesil hoping to impress after injury nightmare

Liverpool striker Samed Yesil is relishing the opportunity to reignite his Anfield career against Everton in the Under-21 Merseyside derby after two years of injury hell.

The 20-year-old has suffered two anterior cruciate knee ligament injuries during the past two seasons and on 17 April made his first start for six months in the 3-1 Under-21 win over Tottenham Hotspur.

And the Germany youth international, who is hoping to feature in this summer's Under-21 European Championships, is ready to take the chance to rekindle his Liverpool career starting against the club's local rivals.

"It's always nice to be back playing and to score goals," he said. "It was quite tough [against Tottenham] because it was a long time that I didn't start a game. I know that I wasn't ready to play 90 minutes but I'm sure against Everton I will be ready to play [the full game].

"I'm really excited because it's now three years and it's my first derby because I was out through injuries. It's a great opportunity for us to play in a Premier League stadium and it's always a different feeling playing in front of so many supporters."

Since joining Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen in August 2012, Yesil has made two professional appearances for the club. But despite recently returning from injury, he is unlikely to fill in for Daniel Sturridge before the end of the campaign.

The news regarding Yesil's comeback comes amid reports defender Jon Flanagan will miss the rest of the year after undergoing a third bout of knee surgery.

The 22-year-old, who has not played this term, damaged the knee during pre-season and after twice going under the knife returned to training in March ahead of an expected recall to the Liverpool first team before the end of the season.

However, another setback in Flanagan's recovery, which could rule him out for between six and nine months, sees the youngster's career at Anfield hanging in the balance.

Flanagan is out of contract in the summer and though manager Brendan Rodgers has indicated the player does have a future at Liverpool, the length of the deal handed to the England international is yet to be decided.