Rodgers Offers Sturridge Update – Striker Could Return To Face Chelsea

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has given another update on the fitness of Daniel Sturridge and revealed that the striker could make his comeback against Chelsea on Tuesday night.

Sturridge has been restricted to making just three appearances so for this season and hasn’t featured for the Reds since their 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane back in late August after initially picking up a thigh injury while away with the England squad.

The 25-year-old then suffered a calf injury which ruled him out for a further month before suffering a recurrence of the thigh problem in training in November and has been on the sidelines ever since.

The striker spent a time over Christmas and New Year working on his fitness in the United States with a team of specialists but returned to Melwood earlier this month to continue his rehabilitation.

Sturridge has now completed the final stages of his rehabilitation programme and Rodgers has confirmed that he’ll rejoin full training with the rest of the squad on Sunday.

The Reds staff will assess the striker to see if he’s fit enough to be in the squad to face Chelsea in their Capital One Cup semi final second leg at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night, but if not, he’ll be available when West Ham come to Anfield next weekend.

Rodgers told Liverpoolfc.com:

“He starts training tomorrow with the team,” said Rodgers. “He’s in his final rehabilitation with the medical and sports science guys today.

“He joins in with the group now and it’s just about getting football fitness and game fitness. We’ll see how he is for Tuesday.

“If he’s not ready for Tuesday then he’ll be back, for sure, against West Ham next weekend.”

It’s going to be a huge boost for Liverpool to have Sturridge available again as he’s been sorely missed these past few months. The Reds have struggled for goals all season and their problems were evident again last night as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Bolton in the FA Cup.