Emre Can was taken off purely as a precaution during Liverpool's 2-1 friendly victory over Preston North End – his first appearance for the Reds since arriving at the club.

The German midfielder and fellow summer signing Rickie Lambert both started at Deepdale, where second-half strikes by Suso and Kristoffer Peterson sealed the win.

Can was withdrawn on the 20-minute mark due to a minor calf issue, but Rodgers had already been impressed with what he witnessed from the new recruit.

"Young Emre was excellent; he showed some lovely touches on the ball," the Northern Irishman told Liverpoolfc.com from the tunnel.

"He's got power and pace. He just had a little bit of tightness in his calf, so as a precaution we took him off early on."