Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers touched on a number of housekeeping items during his pre-match interview earlier today at Melwood and the Northern Irishman confirmed that his squad will be pretty much the same when the Reds travel to Stamford Bridge on Sunday as it was for the win over Queens Park Rangers last weekend.
Long serving captain Steven Gerrard is expected to lead the team out in the Capital for the final time, Alberto Moreno could be ready for a recall to the starting eleven and Adam Lallana could keep his spot after putting in a good showing against the Hoops, but defender Mamadou Sakho remains sidelined with a hamstring problem while the fitness of Mario Balotelli remains up in the air. “The squad is pretty much the same,” confirmed the manager. “Sakho won’t be available and Mario has trained the last couple of days and we’ll see how he is for the weekend.”
Along with the short squad update, Rodgers also talked in length about Daniel Sturridge with the striker going under the knife earlier this week in the United States to not only correct a hip problem, but to help address the various muscle ailments that have plagued him this season. Reports started to leak out last night that the 25-year old would be facing another four to five months on the sidelines — something that was backed up by the manager.
“We anticipate Daniel will be back hopefully to train around about September time. It’s a period of time out, but we’re hopeful the problems and issues he’s had have been resolved with the operation. Now he can recover and hopefully get back as quick as he possibly can,” explained the Northern Irishman. “With Daniel, unfortunately for him and his career, it’s been ongoing in terms of injuries. He’s had a number of issues this season which aren’t related to the operation he’s had. Everyone has seen that when he is fit and playing, he’s an outstanding player. He has been a big miss to us this season, but let’s hope he can get back fit and help contribute for the club.”
