BR: Suarez 'part of the group'

Published Jul. 29, 2013 7:15 a.m. ET

foxsports

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is making sure Luis Suarez remains fully involved in the club's pre-season schedule.

The unsettled Uruguayan has been linked with a transfer and Arsenal have already failed in bidding for the striker.

Liverpool do not want to sell and Rodgers has been including Suarez in their pre-season regime since he returned later than most of the squad having played in the Confederations Cup.

Suarez is also in the middle of a 10-game domestic ban but most recently made a 29-minute appearance in Sunday's friendly win over Thailand.

And Rodgers will continue to step up the former Ajax star's involvement, as he said of the forward's fitness: "He has still got some way to go. He is a number of weeks behind the other players.

"I also have to consider that our focus over the course of pre-season is for the first game [of the Premier League] and Luis will not be available for the first game.

"But it is important he is very much part of the group.

"He is working hard on his conditioning and over the course of time as he gets closer to playing we will build him up to more minutes on the field."