Brendan Rodgers: Daniel Sturridge Not Yet Fit For England Duty

If Brendan Rodgers has his way, Daniel Sturridge won’t play for his country this month.

Sturridge, 24, injured his thigh while on duty with England’s national team in early September and has missed Liverpool’s last five games.

Sturridge is inching toward a full recovery, but Wednesday’s Champions League game against Basel will come too soon for him to return to action.

While, Rodgers is hopeful Sturridge will be able to play against West Brom on Saturday, the Liverpool manager is adamant that his star striker won’t be healthy enough to play for England in Euro 2016 qualifying against San Marino (at home) on Oct. 9 or Estonia (away) on Oct. 12.

“Daniel won’t be fit (for England),” Rodgers said Tuesday, according to the Liverpool Echo. “Whether he is available for the weekend or not, he won’t be fit. We are hoping he can develop over the next 24 hours and train with the team on Thursday and be available for some involvement and be in the squad on Saturday.

“But if you are talking about players availability (for England) they need to be fit to play and Daniel will not be fit to play.”

Rodgers blamed England’s sports science team for Sturridge’s injury, saying it didn’t give him enough recovery time following the 1-0 win over Norway on Sept. 3.

The decision whether to summon Sturridge for England duty ultimately rests with national team manager Roy Hodgson. He can pick Sturridge, but Rodgers, and common sense, tell him to wait until November’s games against Slovenia and Scotland.