Brendan Rodgers Reportedly Angry over Latest Daniel Sturridge Injury Setback

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is reportedly losing patience with striker Daniel Sturridge following the news that he suffered another setback in his recovery from injury.

Speaking on TalkSPORT (h/t Daily Mail's Gerard Brand), broadcaster Alan Brazil—who knows Rodgers on a personal level—had a discussion on the England international's recurring injury problems with co-host Mike Parry:

"

In conversation with co-host Mike Parry, Brazil said: "I have heard that the staff, I won't say who but, are getting just a little bit fed up of what is going on there with Sturridge."

Parry replied: "Erm, the staff, Al? You are going to have to tell us a little bit more about that. That's just a taster."

Brazil, who is friends with Rodgers, then said: "Well, let's put it this way. I think Brendan is very, very upset… I mean, what is going on here? Why is he (Sturridge) always injured?"

"

 The 25-year-old forward hasn't featured for the Reds since late August in a 3-0 win over Tottenham, according to WhoScored.com. Picking up an injury while on international duty, Sturridge's recovery has seen countless setbacks in the past three months.

In his absence, Liverpool's other forwards have failed to find much success scoring. WhoScored.com indicates the Reds have scored a pedestrian 14 Premier League goals this season.

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Sturridge formed a deadly partnership with Luis Suarez last year, combining for over 50 goals as they nearly fired Liverpool to their first Premier League title in 24 years, per Brand.

With Suarez leaving the cub for Barcelona during the summer, all eyes were on Sturridge to step up and lead the way for the Reds. That hasn't happened, and according to ESPN FC's David Usher, there's plenty of blame to go round:

"

Even if this latest scare turns out to be something minor, it has highlighted once again just how precarious this whole Sturridge situation is. Liverpool need him, they rely on him -- and you can even say they're a bit of a mess without him. Yet they cannot count on him because the spectre of injury is always going to be looming. A lot of players are injury prone but this feels different somehow. It has to be extremely worrying for player and club as for whatever reason, Sturridge can no longer even get through training sessions unscathed, let alone the hurly burly of a competitive game. ...

Sturridge should not be a factor in any transfer decisions made by Liverpool from now on. Admittedly there's an element of hindsight in this, but had Rodgers taken that approach last summer then he probably wouldn't be in this mess now.

"

The Liverpool Echo's Jay Riley shared this statistic:

Rodgers' frustration over Sturridge's latest setback is understandable, of course. The Reds were always going to struggle after selling talisman Suarez and bringing in plenty of young and inexperienced talent, but the Northern Irishman would never have foreseen this.

Instead of competing for the Premier League title or battling it out for the European spots, Liverpool sit a disappointing 11th in the Premier League standings, and they'll need a strong push to qualify from their group in the UEFA Champions League.

Sturridge isn't to blame for any disappointing results—he hasn't played.

But that's exactly the problem, of course. His replacements simply can't live up to the same lofty standards he has set, and counting on things to improve when the team's star striker returns only works when he actually does return in a timely fashion.

Is the England international simply unlucky or is there something more going on?

After this latest incident, one would be inclined to believe in the latter, and if that's the case, Rodgers has to start looking at other options in the January transfer window.

Temporary replacements capable of holding down the fort until Sturridge finally gets healthy, or until Divock Origi returns from loan, are not enough. Real, starting-quality forwards who are just as talented as Sturridge but can be counted on to be healthy are needed.

And if Brazil's latest comments are to be believed, Rodgers may just be starting to warm to that idea.

Follow @ReverschPass