After returning to full training last week and making the bench as an unused substitute in Liverpool’s 4-1 win over Manchester City at the weekend, Reds striker Daniel Sturridge looked set to play some part in the Europa League meeting with Bordeaux yesterday at Anfield, only to suffer a suspected foot injury in the build-up.
“I can’t say so much about this [injury],” said Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp when asked about the extent of the problem prior to kick-off at Anfield. “We trained this morning, we went to the hotel, he was with us and then he had to leave to have a scan,” he continued, obviously disappointed that he’d be without the 26-year old striker once again. “I cannot say more,” dodged the German manager before adding, “we have to wait for the results.”
The Reds went on to seal a spot in the Round of 32 with a narrow 2-1 victory over the French side, but this latest setback in Sturridge’s long road to recovery will certainly put a damper on any celebrations. Although there’s little known about the circumstances surrounding his foot problem, the one thing that is certain is that he’s now a major doubt for the Premier League meeting with Swansea City this Sunday.
“I don’t know too much about the situation because it was in the afternoon after training,” explained Klopp in his post match press conference. “It wasn’t a situation I saw because we trained in two groups – the starting line-up and the other players. We can now start thinking about it, because we had no time, it was really close to the game when the news came,” he said, hinting that Sturridge wasn’t fit enough for a spot in the starting eleven. “We had Cameron Brannagan in the hotel with us, a 19th man if something happened. Something happened, so we had 18 again. But there is no news – at the moment we have to wait.”
