Brendan Rodgers has confirmed that Daniel Sturridge is out of Liverpool’s biggest week of the season as he continues his recovery from a calf problem.
Liverpool face a trip to Newcastle on Saturday before heading to Spain for a Champions League clash against Real Madrid on Tuesday, and round off a demanding seven days with a game against league leaders Chelsea at Anfield.
Sturridge damaged his calf two weeks ago in training as he was working his way back from a thigh injury.
Liverpool initially hoped he might recover in two weeks but there is no prospect of that and Rodgers has accepted that time has run out.
‘I don’t think he will be fit,’ said Rodgers. ‘The bottom line is that he is injured. He strained his calf. So he is injured. We will just wait and work with him until he gets back fit.
‘I have to find the solutions without Daniel. You are learning every day about the players. Gradually as each day goes by, I sense and feel we are getting better.’
The ramifications of Sturridge’s absence from those matches is that he will not be available for England’s games against Slovenia and Scotland next month, either.
In an interview with talkSPORT, Sturridge claimed that his fitness problems are hereditary as both his father and uncle endured muscular injuries like him, but the manager wants to see his striker have a consistent run with the team.
‘When you have that talent, you just have to keep yourself fit and available as you possibly can,’ said Rodgers.
‘We will work with him and hopefully we will get that bit of luck when he comes back. When he comes back, hopefully we will have him for the rest of the season.
‘I can only concentrate on his injury now. He’s just recovering and we will see the length of time it takes. He is probably speaking how he felt. That is the way of the world.
‘I am not an expert on any genetics code, or medicine, so I can’t comment.
‘All I know is it’s a calf strain on the back of his last injury and he’s working to recover.’
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