• Premier League

Sturridge 'has chance' to be fit for derby

Daniel Sturridge has been reduced to the role of a spectator at Anfield in recent weeks © Getty Images

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Daniel Sturridge has a chance of making his Liverpool return in the Merseyside derby at Anfield on Saturday, according to Brendan Rodgers.

Sturridge has been out of action since suffering a thigh injury in training on September 5 while on England duty, and Liverpool have lost both of their Premier League matches without him, scoring only one goal in the process.

Rodgers says it is too early to make a definitive decision on whether Sturridge will return to the squad to face Everton, but he refused to rule out a recall for the 25-year-old, who is back in training after recovering from his injury.

"We've got a number of injuries that we're going to give every chance to," Rodgers told his pregame news conference on Thursday.

"The game is 48 hours away. He's a player who is out on the field working. With him and a number of others, we'll make an assessment nearer the time.

"If he doesn't make it, then he won't be far off after that."

Rodgers was critical of the England setup after Sturridge picked up his injury, arguing that it could have been avoided.

The Liverpool boss hinted that he felt the striker had been over-trained, and had not been allowed enough time to recover after facing Norway in a friendly two days earlier.

Asked if he had a firm idea as to whether Sturridge would face Everton, Rodgers said: "No, because he's someone who responds well to treatment, and that's going well.

"He's out on the field, but there are still a couple of days to go yet before the game. The most important thing is that he's near to fitness.

"He certainly won't be match fit. He hasn't played for a few weeks. But it will be great to have him back because he's a wonderful player for us. He's a great reference for our team at the top of the field.

"His pace and movement and quality that we saw the last time he played for us, against Tottenham, was exceptional.

"We'll be very, very happy to have him back and we hope that can be this weekend. But we'll assess it over the next couple of days."

Liverpool have lost three of their opening five Premier League games of the season, and sit seven points behind leaders Chelsea in 11th position.

This article originally appeared on ESPNFC.com

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