Video courtesy of Suleyman Sahin
Ahead of Liverpool’s meeting with Crystal Palace tomorrow, in Reds boss Brendan Rodgers pre-match press conference, the Northern Irishman took some time to discuss the latest injury setback suffered by Daniel Sturridge and to rubbish reports that Lille striker Divock Origi — currently on loan from the Anfield outfit — would be recalled early.
“It was never the case. It was always on the understanding, and there was no discussion, that he had to stay at Lille” said the Reds boss without a moment of hesitation when asked about the youngsters future. “I’ve seen reports about him maybe coming back early, but that was never the case. We signed the player and it was one of the main reasons that we were able to sign the player – that he would have to stay at Lille for this season.”
With the news that Sturridge, who has already been on the treatment table for the past ten weeks, would be laid up with a recurrence of his thigh injury until the new year, speculation that the Anfield outfit would take steps to bring the Belgian striker back to Merseyside early gained a renewed measure of traction. There hasn’t been a single Premier League goal claimed between the likes of Mario Balotelli, Rickie Lambert and Fabio Borini this season, but Rodgers isn’t about to break the terms of the deal that was made with the Ligue One side.
“There has been a lot of speculation about him coming back, but I’ve never felt that was the case. He is a young player that we identified as a talent” he continued. “The deal was in place quite clearly and simply in the summer that he would stay at Lille for the season and then we would get him next season. As far as I’m concerned, at this point in time, that’s still the case.”
