Brendan Rodgers says Liverpool are disappointed that Daniel Sturridge has returned from international duty with an injury the boss describes as ‘preventable’, reports the Express.
Rodgers believes the England training staff did not create a recovery programme specific to Sturridge’s specific needs, and has revealed his frustrations at being without the 25-year-old for the next two weeks.
He told talkSPORT: “We’re disappointed because we feel it’s an injury which could have been prevented.
“Club work differently to international teams, it’s the recovery strategy. When we look at our players here, we look at them individually, in terms of what their needs are.
“Some players are very fast, they will have a second day, active recovery, whereas other players can work on that [second] day.
“When you’re a type of player like Raheem Sterling or Daniel Sturridge, you need to recover them differently.”
Sturridge is set to miss Liverpool’s clash with Aston Villa on Saturday, as well as the Reds return to the Champions League on Tuesday evening, when they host Ludogorets at Anfield following a five-year-absence from the competition.
Rodgers added: “He’s one to two weeks away [from playing again].
“It’s disappointing for him because he’s worked so hard in pre-season and looked very fit and strong in the last game against Tottenham.”
I am sure there is some rule or something somewhere about what I am about to say. A player knows better than anyone else what their body is doing or not doing as the case may be. Sturridge should have been able to approach Hodgson and tell him that he is not fully fit and he should not have been forced to play. This one game for England has cost not only him, but Liverpool 2 to 3 weeks without his services. Thanks Roy!