The Liverpool star is still not pushing his body to the limits, according to John Aldridge
If it wasn’t clear in the two games against Manchester United in the Europa League, then it was abundantly clear in the game at St Mary’s on Sunday: Daniel Sturridge does not yet fully trust his body. At least that’s the view of Reds’ legend, John Aldridge.
The Liverpool striker is currently enjoying his longest injury-free (touch wood) spell since the start of the season and has chipped in with some important goals in recent weeks but he has yet to really hit the sort of form, and show the kind of quality we’ve become accustomed to. This has led to him being withdrawn after barely 60 minutes in most games since his return.
And Aldo reckons that Sturridge is scared to really push his body, with his recent injury problems still playing on his mind. Writing in his weekly column for the Liverpool Echo, Aldridge said: “Daniel Sturridge’s quality was there for all to see at St Mary’s with a very good goal.
“But I do think we also saw that he’s still scared to go full blast with his body.
“When he’s on the pitch you can see what he can do but the manager demands the work rate of players from the 60s, 70s and 80s, that you chase everything and that’s not something that Daniel Sturridge does and it’s not something that Christian Benteke does. He has got to get them into his way of thinking.
“Daniel looks like he is worried about something going twang but hopefully he will grow more confident as he gets more games under his belt which is what you’d normally expect to happen.”
After his struggles with thigh (and various other) injuries in the past 18 months, it’s perhaps understandable that Sturridge is concerned that he might break down again if he forces himself to push his body but given the demands Klopp places on his players, it is something that he may need to get used to, with the German manager expecting 110% from all of his players.
Has the striker still got a place at Anfield, or will be a casualty in the summer, as Klopp looks to bring in players more suited to his style of play? Let us know your thoughts below.
