Brendan Rodgers: Daniel Sturridge is fit for Liverpool but not for England

Posted Wednesday, October 01, 2014 by theguardian.com

· Liverpool manager still angry about striker’s injury
· ‘Whether he’s available for Liverpool or not, he won’t be fit’
· Sturridge picks up thigh injury during England training

Brendan Rodgers: Daniel Sturridge is fit for Liverpool but not for England
Liverpool's Daniel Sturridge before last weekend's Merseyside derby against Everton, which he missed through injury.

Brendan Rodgers is on a potential collision course with Roy Hodgson after telling the England manager that Daniel Sturridge will not be fit for the forthcoming Euro 2016 qualifiers even if he plays for Liverpool this weekend.

Sturridge will miss Liverpool’s Champions League tie against Baselon Wednesday with the thigh injury he suffered while training with England last month. It is the sixth game the 25-year-old has missed for his club with the problem and there remains considerable anger at Liverpool over England’s treatment of the player during the last international break.

Sturridge had requested a light training session 48 hours after England’s friendly against Norway, in keeping with his usual routine at Liverpool, but was made to take part in full training by Hodgson and pulled up injured during the session.

Hodgson names his England squad for October’s double-header against San Marino and Estonia on Thursday and, with Rodgers admitting Sturridge could face West Bromwich Albion at Anfield on Saturday, may be tempted to include the striker despite his lack of match fitness.

But the Liverpool manager said: “Daniel won’t be fit. Whether he is available for the weekend or not, he won’t be fit. We are hoping he can develop over the next 24 hours and train with the team on Thursday and be available for some involvement and be in the squad on Saturday. But if you are talking about players’ availability [for England], then they need to be fit to play and Daniel will not be fit to play.”

Rodgers has not spoken to the England manager since Sturridge’s injury, suggesting a possible deterioration in their relationship, but added: “We have good dialogue and he knows he can call and speak about any of the players. Hopefully he will have found anything I have ever said about the England players working with Liverpool to be helpful.”

Asked if he expected England to overlook an unfit Sturridge for the fixtures on 9 and 12 October, the Liverpool manager said: “It’s something we have already stressed. We will see. My focus is on protecting the Liverpool players and at this moment in time my focus is on getting him fit for Liverpool.”

Another notable absentee from the Liverpool squad in Switzerland was Mamadou Sakho, the £18m defender who was facing disciplinary action for walking out of Anfield when told he did not feature in Saturday’s match-day squad against Everton. Rodgers said the measures taken against the France international would remain “in-house” but claimed he would be absent for the next two to three weeks with a thigh injury sustained in training since the derby.

“He has picked up a slight strain which might mean he is out for a few weeks,” Rodgers said. “It [the walk-out] is not something we expect from our players. We have spoken, he knows the situation and he has apologised. We move on.”