Liverpool Team News: Rodgers Confirms Key Injury Doubt Ahead Of Palace Clash

Liverpool will hope to get their title bid back on track when they take on Crystal Palace at Selhurt Park on Monday night.

Ahead of the game, boss Brendan Rodgers has been speaking to the media at his pre-match press conference today and gave Liverpoolfc.com an update on the fitness of Daniel Sturridge, with the striker a doubt to face Palace.

The England international picked up a minor hamstring strain during the second half of the Reds 3-2 win over Manchester City last month and was subsequently left out for the following weeks trip to Carrow Road to face Norwich City.

The 24-year-old didn’t train in the run-up to last weekend’s vital clash with Chelsea but he was named in the squad and came off the bench midway through the second half to help try and turn things around as Jose Mourinho’s men ran out 2-0 victors at Anfield.

Sturridge has not trained with the first team since the game last Sunday and is considered a doubt to face Palace, but Rodgers has confirmed the forward will rejoin the rest of the squad in training on Saturday and they will assess his fitness ahead of the trip to the Capital on Monday.

The Liverpool boss told the clubs website:

“We’ll see over the next 48 hours. He [Sturridge] hadn’t trained since he got injured in the [Manchester City game], so it was a bit much [against Chelsea].

“He had worked really hard to get back and we needed something on the bench that could support us and help us in the game but unfortunately, it wasn’t to be.

“But he’s certainly in a much better place. He’s worked tirelessly this week with the medical team. He re-joins the group and we’ll see how he is come Monday.”

If Sturridge is ruled out, much of the goal-scoring burden will be placed at the feet of his strike partner, Luis Suarez, as Liverpool look to keep the pressure on Manchester City and Chelsea at the top of the table.

The Reds head into the weekend sitting two points clear of their rivals but they could find themselves down in second if City beat Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday evening, so victory against Palace is going to be vital if Rodgers and his men want to maintain hopes of lifting their first league title in 24 years.