Liverpool continue to feel the absence of star striker Daniel Sturridge with a poor performance in the capital yesterday only highlighting how important the 25-year-old is to the Reds. Although left Loftus Road with three points, it took a pair of own goals sandwiched between a deflected strike from substitute Philippe Coutinho to wrap things up after QPR twice pulled level.
“He was returning from his thigh injury and medically everything was fine with that,” Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers explained to the press following their dour 3-2 win over Queens Park Rangers on Sunday. “Then, on his very first morning, he was jogging around the pitch in the warm-up – there was no action, no striking of a ball. He was jogging around the field and then in the actual warm-up, he felt his calf a little tight.”
Nothing short of toothless in attack, the Reds missed the kind of dynamic, penetrative running that Sturridge provides — and with an additional two weeks on the sidelines at minimum — they’re going to have to start looking for other solutions to their scoring woes if they’re going to stay on track in not only the Premier League, but in Europe as well.
“The scan shows that there is a little bit of damage in his calf. So the medical team tell me it’s probably between two to four weeks, which is a huge disappointment for us” continued the Northern Irishman with the sound of resignation in his voice. “But we have enough players now. We need to keep rallying forward and hope Daniel gets back sooner rather than later.”
