England Should Heed Liverpool's Criticism over Latest Daniel Sturridge Injury

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers caused a slight stir on Thursday, when he appeared to accuse England’s coaching team of something approaching negligence over their handling of striker Daniel Sturridge.

The forward missed England’s opening Euro 2016 qualifier against Switzerland on Monday due to a slight hamstring injury, a knock sustained in training two days after he had played in Wednesday’s 1-0 friendly victory over Norway.

Rodgers, who fears his striker will now miss two weeks of club action, seemed to suggest England’s coaches and medical team had mishandled Sturridge, going as far as to suggest the injury "could have been prevented."

Speaking to talkSPORT, Rodgers said:

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The only disappointment for us was Daniel Sturridge coming back injured as he had started the season very well.

We’re obviously disappointed because we feel it was an injury which could have been prevented. He has worked so hard over pre-season and looked very fit and strong in our last game against Tottenham.

I think clubs work differently at times to international teams. It’s more the recovery strategy.

When we look at our players here we look at them individually in terms of what their needs are. Fast players would have a second day [of] recovery while other players can work on that day. When you are that type of player like Daniel Sturridge, Raheem Sterling and boys like Danny Welbeck you need [them] to recover.

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Club and country disputes are nothing new; indeed, this is just another chapter in an ever-expanding book.

Rodgers’ comments no doubt expose a certain frustration—this is the fourth time in two years that Sturridge has picked up an injury while away representing his country (from 11 injuries in total, per Physio Room). But they also expose the divide that remains between some international coaches and their club counterparts.

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While Hodgson—and others—could reasonably point out that neither Sterling nor Welbeck suffered an injury as a result of training after only one day of rest and went on to be two of the strongest performers in Basel, that is not really the point.

Rodgers is talking about what Liverpool do to minimise the risks of injury, to reduce the percentages. Injuries are an unavoidable part of professional sport, but measures can be taken to limit their likelihood and frequency.

Considering it is the club who work closer with their players (and also pay their considerable wages)—although some will have insurance policies to cover eventualities such as this—it is unsurprising they want that treatment to continue when they join up with the national team.

Having said that, the right of the national team—to call up whoever they want and train them however they like—is an inviolable tenet of FIFA’s management of the sport. Roy Hodgson is within his rights to treat his players however he deems fit; if he felt that his players, Sturridge included, needed an extra day on the training pitch to work on their tactical approach for the Switzerland game, then that is his prerogative.

Working within the tighter time frame of international breaks is going to be a scenario that plays out within most national team camps—especially with coaches that, like Hodgson, have a reputation for liking tactical ideas to be ingrained into players by hours of work on the training ground.

The problem is that it is now the club, in this case Liverpool, who pick up the pieces. Sturridge’s injury prognosis indicates he could miss games against Aston Villa, West Ham United and Everton in the league, along with the Champions League opener against Ludogorets.

After looking so vibrant in the 3-0 away win over Tottenham at the end of last month, it might be another month before Sturridge has played himself into that sort of shape again. With Mario Balotelli and Rickie Lambert both still adjusting to their new club, Rodgers may feel Sturridge’s injury has come a bit too soon for him to cover it adequately.

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Liverpool cannot prevent their players from joining up with the national team, but that does not mean it is not in England’s interests to keep up a cordial working relationship with the clubs they draw their players from. They can learn new, better practices from clubs who work with these individuals on a day-to-day basis and apply that to their own approach.

For Liverpool, that is particularly true, with a core of Rodgers' players—Sturridge, Sterling, Jordan Henderson and Adam Lallana—likely to be playing a key part of the England setup for a number of years to come.

The last thing Hodgson wants is a strained relationship with Anfield; his old club cannot prevent players joining up with the squad for competitive fixtures, though convenient “knocks” that keep players out of friendlies are a common occurrence all over the world.

And it is in friendlies, especially nearer tournament time, in which most of the crucial team-building work is done.

Avoiding injuries might be more of a pressing long-term concern for clubs than countries, but in the long run, keeping a player fit whenever possible will only serve to benefit both.

Working together in pursuit of that ambition makes sense, and Hodgson and his team would do well to see Rodgers’ comments as a chance to reflect on their own strategies.