Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has made an injury update on Daniel Sturridge, ruling him out for the next two games at least, meaning he will miss The Reds’ game against West Ham this weekend.
The German said he can’t put a timescale on the return of the English striker, who has already missed Liverpool’s last three games due to a calf injury, meaning he might not be back in time for the Merseyside Derby against Everton on December 19. He will miss the fixture against Middlesbrough next week too.
As reported by the Liverpool Echo, Klopp revealed the latest on Sturridge’s injury today during a press conference at Melwood, citing that the 27-year-old has started training, just not with the team.
He said when asked when Sturridge might return: “No real idea. Until now he didn’t train, on the pitch maybe today, He’s starting football work, on the pitch, not with the team just with the rehab coach. So no idea when he is back.”
Klopp is patient though and doesn’t want to rush the recovery of the Englishman, as he said: “You can’t force things like this, never. It’s not important what the name of the player is, or the quality. As a manager you have to wait until they are back.
“And sometimes you have to wait a little bit longer because you decide then what you had in the past and I say ‘maybe a few days training would be nice before we start them again’. Of course it’s not perfect in our situation with Phil (Coutinho) and Danny (Ings) and all that stuff, but not to change.”
As expected, many Liverpool fans have reacted badly to the news that Sturridge is out indefinitely. Some would be rather happy to see things changed and the striker forced out of the door come the January transfer window.
Sturridge has featured in nine Premier League games so far this season for Liverpool but is yet to score and only has one assist. He did score two key goals against Tottenham in the League Cup back in October, but he hasn’t played for The Reds since the 0-0 draw against Southampton where he picked up his calf injury.
It appears Liverpool fans would be very comfortable with the departure of Sturridge, and his lack of impact this season may lead to Klopp to finding a permanent replacement for him in the near future if they wish to keep themselves in the Premier League title race.