• England

Rodgers claims victory in Sturridge battle

Brendan Rodgers claims to have won Liverpool's club-versus-country struggle with Roy Hodgson over the fitness of striker Daniel Sturridge.

Sturridge hasn't featured since picking up a thigh problem during training before England's game against Switzerland last month but is nearing a return and Rodgers feared Hodgson would pick him for the upcoming Euro 2016 qualifiers against San Marino and Estonia.

Daniel Sturridge was injured during England training last month © Getty Images

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However, following Liverpool's Champions League defeat away to Basel, Rodgers suggested Hodgson had agreed not to call up Sturridge.

"I spoke to Roy today and obviously the agreement will be that Daniel will not meet up with England," Rodgers said.

"It's for both parties really. I'm not sure Daniel will be fit for the weekend. At this moment he won't be in the squad and I am sure Roy will confirm that. For Dan now, the next two weeks is a case of getting up to speed to make sure he's fit to play for us, which is the priority."

The situation could be complicated further with Sturridge having an outside chance of making an appearance for Liverpool against West Brom on Saturday.

The FA didn't respond to Rodgers' claims on Wednesday night, with Hodgson expected to speak on the matter when he names his squad later on Thursday, but could call up the striker and make their own checks regardless of Liverpool's stance.

Members of the FA's medical staff reportedly visited Liverpool's Melwood training ground on Monday to discuss Sturridge's fitness with the club.

Meanwhile, the FA are expecting just 50,000 people to attend the San Marino match next week, which would be England's lowest home attendance for a competitive game since the reopening of Wembley seven years ago.

The current lowest crowd for a qualifying match was the 57,892 who watched England's 6-0 win against Andorra in October 2009, which coincided with a tube strike.

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