Although there’s been no official update from Liverpool regarding the progress of striker Daniel Sturridge since a thigh injury sidelined him for up to three weeks, reports in the media today have suggested that the 25-year old has returned to training with the club.
Yesterday evening the ex-Chelsea man was forced to watch from the stands as the Reds scraped a 2-1 victory over Bulgarian minnows PFC Ludogrets in the Anfield outfits first Champions League match in five years. Mario Balotelli scored his first goal for the club late in the second half to set up a frantic finish which saw the visitors pull one back before Steven Gerrard secured the points from the penalty spot after fullback Javier Manquillo was up-ended by Ludogrets ‘keeper Milan Borjan.
Liverpool have looked a bit disjointed in attack since losing Sturridge to injury, but he could return to action sooner than expected with news that he successfully completed a light session at Melwood today doing the rounds in the media. Although it’s highly unlikely that he’ll even be fit enough for the bench when the Reds face off against West Ham United this weekend, if all goes well, he could see a few minutes when they welcome Middlesbrough to Anfield in the Capital One Cup next Tuesday.
Despite bringing in a number of attacking options over the summer, Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers hasn’t seen his front-line coalesce quite the way he would have wanted with the 1-0 loss to Aston Villa over the weekend and a close call in Europe yesterday certainly weighing on his mind. The Northern Irishman was highly critical of the way England handled Sturridge’s fitness concerns and his recovery, but he’ll at least be smiling a little bit should he return to action ahead of schedule.
