In the least surprising news of the day, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that Reds striker Daniel Sturridge will not be available when League Two side Exeter City travel to Merseyside for the FA Cup Third Round replay at Anfield tomorrow.
“No,” was his blunt response when asked if the 26-year old would be fit enough to face the Grecians on Wednesday. “No chance for Daniel. He has had a break in training because of some issues,” explained Klopp. “He’s now back training but losing time. But no team training since Newcastle. I don’t know how long it is,” he continued, before adding, “That’s not a situation we can think about him.”
Over the last month or so there has been very little information made available by the club regarding Sturridge’s fitness as he’s put through a “mini-pre-season” in an attempt to not only get him up to speed with the rest of the squad, but to try to alleviate his ongoing problems with muscle injuries. While it’s understandable that the club would want to protect the 26-year old, our woes in front of the net are increasingly becoming a cause for concern — something that Reds legend John Aldridge believes would be rectified by a top class hit-man.
“With Liverpool the striking situation still revolves around Daniel Sturridge – what’s the manager going to do? It’s a really bad situation for Liverpool,” said the former Liverpool forward. “If Daniel Sturridge is playing we‘ve got 10 more points and are where we want to be. That’s the value of a top striker, that’s why you pay £30m, £40m or £50m for their services,” mused Aldridge. “We saw how he scored his goals against Southampton. “We don’t even know how this pre-season has gone. Is he injured again? I understand Liverpool want to guard the situation closely but as a fan you want to know what’s happening. It’s a real dilemma for the manager and I feel for him.”
