• London Olympics 2012

Pearce to make late Sturridge call

ESPN staff
July 8, 2012
Daniel Sturridge fell ill last week with viral meningitis © PA Photos
Enlarge

Team GB boss Stuart Pearce insists he will not take any risks on Daniel Sturridge, telling the Chelsea forward he will only be picked for London 2012 if he is 100% fit.

Sturridge fell ill last week with viral meningitis - a mild strain of the disease - but has said he is confident of recovering in time for the Games, where he is a member of Pearce's 18-man squad.

Pearce will give Sturridge until July 25 to prove his fitness before making a final decision on whether he will be given a chance to shine.

"Doctors had a look at him last week, visited him and basically he will stay here [in England]," said Pearce. "He won't come to Spain when we do our prep there, and all being well we'll pick him up when we fly back into the Olympic Village on Monday week. We will assess him at that time.

"The good thing is we probably have a couple of weeks to make a decision on his fitness. If he is fully fit, he will stay with us. If we think there are any doubts in any shape or form, we'll call someone else to replace him. July 25 is that latest we can make that decision.

"We still have a few weeks in respect to that, but the important thing is probably once we get him on the training pitch to look at him and see how he is and how much this illness has affected him."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Close

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices