The left-back was absent for his nation’s Euro 2024 qualifier with France on Tuesday night, having appeared in their win against New Zealand in a friendly last week.
Tsimikas is now back at the AXA Training Centre as he prepares for Liverpool’s trip to Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday lunchtime.
He told Liverpoolfc.com: “I could not play in the game against France because if I should take a yellow card, I would not play in the [play-off] games in March, which are more important than the one against France.
“I decided to come back earlier to the team, to be with the squad, to train with the team, to be more ready.
“It was my decision and this is what I wanted to do because, as everybody knows, most of the time we play 12.30 after the international break and even the players who played far, they didn’t come yet, they come probably one day, two days before the game.
“So for me, I think it was a very good chance to come earlier to be with the team and to train hard.”
Tsimikas’ last outing for the Reds saw him assist Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota in the 3-0 victory over Brentford at Anfield.
The No.21 is determined to consistently reproduce that level of performance in the months ahead.
He continued: “Before Brentford, I was not in the best condition of myself. I try to find my best moments, I try to fight back, to be the player I was before, to make assists, to run, to defend, to do everything on the pitch.
“I’m really happy I came back against Brentford. I have to keep going with the same passion.
“OK, this can happen, we play football, it’s a very difficult sport. It’s up to me now to continue to play good and to make assists for the team.”
