Mario Balotelli's agent has suggested the striker's struggles to adapt to life at Liverpool have not been helped by the fact that he is missing his young daughter.
Mino Raiola said Pia, who was born in December 2012, lives with her mother in Italy and that the forward was not able to see her as much as he would like to.
Rickie Lambert has taken on the lead striking role for Liverpool as Balotelli -- who has yet to score a Premier League goal for the Reds - recovers from an injury.
"It's wrong to criticise him," Raiola told Il Corriere dello Sport, in quotes reported by the London Evening Standard.
"He needs to be given time to adapt at Liverpool. His difficult time is not connected to football but to the fact he can't see his daughter as much as he would like."
There are already suggestions in the English media that Balotelli, who cost Liverpool 16 million pounds when he arrived from AC Milan in the summer, will return to Italy.
Reports have linked him with Inter Milan, but Raiola said: "Balotelli will never go back to an Italian team. I've already made that mistake once [when he moved to Milan], because I listened to him."
The agent stressed that Balotelli remained committed to turning his Liverpool form around.