STURRIDGE INJURY BLOW
Hip injection to keep striker out of England squad
DANIEL Sturridge is out of England’s squad and faces a fight to be ready for pre- season as he prepares for treatment to cure a long-standing hip problem.
The Liverpool striker had been nursing a hip complaint through the closing weeks of the Premier League season and he requires an injection that he hopes will get to the bottom of the problem and allow him to play without discomfort next campaign.
There seemed to be an acceptance at the end of last month that Sturridge would not play any part in the run-in but he ended up appearing in Liverpool’s final four fixtures, starting the last two against West Ham and Middlesbrough. The efforts, though, took a toll.
Still, he was surprisingly included in the squad that travelled to Australia, but it was an even bigger shock he played the first 45 minutes of an end- of- season friendly, having spent 24 hours in the air. Liverpool only arrived in Sydney 11 hours before kick-off yesterday.
He will have the procedure when he returns to Merseyside — Liverpool fly back later today — and it will prevent Gareth Southgate from picking him for the World Cup qualifier against Scotland and the France friendly next month. A consequence of that is likely to be that Marcus Rashford is not selected for England’s Under 21 Euro 2017 squad.
Sturridge, who scored the opening goal in a facile 3-0 win and set up the last for Roberto Firmino, is understood to be distraught that he cannot play for England and it remains to be seen whether he will play for Liverpool again.
Jurgen Klopp has favoured using Firmino as his main striker, relegating Sturridge to the role of deputy. The 27-year-old, however, is unlikely to want to sit on the bench. It is expected that more talks will be held in the coming weeks to find a solution. With two years remaining on his contract, Liverpool are under no pressure to sell but Klopp recognises the frustrations that Sturridge is facing and it remains to be seen whether they will allow him to move on when the transfer window opens.
Klopp was non-committal when asked about Sturridge’s future and he revealed that the club have been in discussions with Sturridge. Klopp expects the talks to continue as he looks to reshape his squad, with Southampton defender Virgil van Dijk and Leipzig midfielder Naby Keita prime targets.
‘We speak about everything,’ said Klopp, who saw Alberto Moreno score Liverpool’s second goal. ‘We spoke, we speak. It’s not just a case of starting with things now. It’s not just my talks, it’s talks with (sporting director) Michael Edwards, with agents or whatever. We speak to everybody. In the end, everybody will know what happens when it happens.
‘It is not always in our hands. It’s not just about Daniel. That’s how transfers work out. There are a few things still to do but we have time. We will look who we bring in and then we will see who wants to leave. At the end of August, then we will have a squad.’