Daniel Sturridge injury: Liverpool striker could return for Manchester City clash

The 26-year-old is yet to play a minute under new manager Jurgen Klopp

Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge (Getty Images)

Daniel Sturridge could return for Liverpool’s trip to Manchester City after the international break after stepping up his recovery from a knee injury.

The England international is yet to play a minute under new manager Jurgen Klopp, despite being due to start in the former Borussia Dortmund coach’s first game against Tottenham Hotspur.

The knee problem, sustained in a training-ground collision with Jordon Ibe, will have kept Sturridge out for a month despite originally being thought of as minor.

Now, with many squad members away on international duty, the 26-year-old has begun to train outside and will take part in specially arranged sessions later this week.

All being well, Sturridge could then join in on full-contact sessions and come into contention to play against his former club at the Etihad Stadium.

A return date is yet to be specified but last night Sturridge posted a photograph of himself on Instagram with the message, “Believe in yourself even when others don’t”.

 

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A photo posted by Daniel Sturridge - Dstudge (@danielsturridge) on Nov 10, 2015 at 8:51am PST

The striker’s gradual recovery will come as a relief to Klopp, who has seen his squad suffer something of an injury crisis since he joined the club last month.

Mamadou Sakho became the latest casualty in last weekend’s defeat to Crystal Palace.

The club have confirmed that the French centre-back will be unavailable for around six to eight weeks, ruling him out of the busy Christmas period.

Initially, there were fears that Sakho, who damaged knee ligaments in an aerial duel with Bakary Sako on Sunday, could be out for the season.

Since Klopp’s arrival, Liverpool have lost both Joe Gomez and Danny Ings to anterior cruciate ligament injuries and, earlier this week, vice-captain James Milner withdrew from international duty after picking up a hamstring problem.