Keeping Daniel Sturridge Fit Will Be as Important as Any Transfer for Liverpool
Daniel Sturridge's injury-plagued 2014/15 saw Liverpool suffer without their main striker, and they'll have to begin the 2015/16 campaign without him too.
The 25-year-old underwent hip surgery in May and won't be back in training until September, as explained by Reds boss Brendan Rodgers, according to ThisIsAnfield.com: "We hope he is available to train in September and then it is about getting his fitness in."
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
As noted by the Guardian's Andy Hunter, "It could be mid-to-late October before Sturridge is available for Rodgers’ team again."
It's another lengthy injury layoff for a player who started just 12 games last season.
Sturridge signed a reported £150,000-per-week deal at the club last October, as reported by the Telegraph's Chris Bascombe, making him the club's highest earner.
To have your highest-earning player start just 20 percent of all fixtures during the season is very poor economical sense for Liverpool. They simply must ensure they find a way to keep him fit next season.
Injury prone
Of course, much has been written about Liverpool's poor goalscoring form in 2014/15, when they struggled to adapt to life without Sturridge and Luis Suarez. The remaining three forwards of Mario Balotelli, Rickie Lambert and Fabio Borini contributed just four league goals between them, and eight in total in all competitions.
Sturridge himself scored 24 in all competitions the season before, when he started 30 of the Reds' 43 fixtures in all competitions.
Those 13 games missed were also due to injury, with the former Chelsea striker having suffered 15 different injures since joining Liverpool in January 2013.
It was naive of Liverpool to enter the 2014/15 season so reliant on Sturridge remaining fit, with his injury problems dating back to his early days at Manchester City. He suffered 12 injuries during three years at Stamford Bridge, and six in two years at City.
All this has led Sturridge to even claim his problems may be "hereditary." He told talkSPORT in an interview last October (quotes via the Guardian) that: "Maybe it’s the Caribbean vibes, maybe I have speed but maybe it makes you more vulnerable because of the fast twitch muscles and the speed in which you’re moving."
Maybe England boss Roy Hodgson had a point after all when he seemed to question Sturridge's mental approach to injuries when he tested his resolve in an England game back in December 2013.
Perhaps there is an underlying issue with Sturridge's psychological approach to injuries? If so, is this something he has worked, or could work, on with Dr. Steve Peters? Sturridge has worked with Peters before, explaining as such in October 2013 in an interview with the Liverpool Echo.
Perhaps this mental barrier explains why Sturridge looked tentative on each of his returns from injury last season.
Or perhaps there has been an underlying issue that has nagged at him—he's had an incredible 13 hip/thigh injuries during his career, per PhysioRoom. That's an inordinate number of similar injuries and seems to suggest something has been amiss that needed surgery to correct it. Will this latest surgery, undergone in New York in May, finally cure the problem? Sturridge and Liverpool will certainly hope so.
Striker options
Without Sturridge for the start of next season, Rodgers must find a way to cope without his star forward.
The Reds boss is looking to make wholesale changes to his attack this summer, with Divock Origi arriving at the club from a loan spell at Lille and Danny Ings already having agreed a move after his contract expired at Burnley.
Lambert, Borini and Balotelli will almost certainly all be available for sale, and Rodgers will hope they all depart, allowing him to sign another top centre-forward.
As we've seen in the past, though, moving on players isn't always easy, and that means it could be late in the transfer window when Liverpool move on that trio and finally sign somebody to work alongside or instead of Sturridge in attack.
That leaves the somewhat underwhelming prospect of Ings and/or Origi leading the Liverpool attack into the new season. And Rodgers simply cannot afford a bad start after the way last season capitulated, he will be under pressure from day one and needs to have goals in his side.
Ings has never played in a three-man attack, always within a two-man attack, and he may take time to adjust to a new system if Rodgers opts for 4-3-3 as his formation of choice. Origi is still raw at just 20 years old.
Pre-season could see both of them impress, but we've too often seen players shine in the summer friendlies only to struggle once the season begins. Iago Aspas being the primary case in point from two years ago.
What Liverpool do not want, though, is to once again have all eyes turned to Sturridge's return, as was the case throughout 2014/15. Constantly the manager and players talked of how having Sturridge back fit will turn around their form. It never materialised because Sturridge never remained fit for long enough.
The road back for him will be long too, having not played consistent football for what will be 14 months. A rather startling concern.
Fitness
Assuming that this latest hip operation cures the long-term issue with Strurridge, getting him back to fitness will be the job of Liverpool's coaching team, and the club's head of fitness and conditioning, Ryland Morgans.
There could, though, perhaps be another person who could be a welcome addition to Sturridge's career, if former assistant boss and renowned fitness coach Pako Ayestaran makes a return to the club this summer.
The Spaniard is among the main names being linked with a role among Rodgers' coaching staff following the departures of Colin Pascoe and first-team coach Mike Marsh. Could a new coach/coaches help Sturridge overcome his long-term issues?
Ayestaran worked as the club's assistant manager and fitness coach from 2004 to 2007, would his re-appointment step on the toes of Morgans and thus lead to a change in Liverpool's fitness regime?
Reliance
Ultimately, Liverpool cannot afford to rely upon Sturridge due to his injury history, and like former midfielder Danny Murphy explained to talkSPORT, Liverpool need another proven striker—"A bigger, more established [than Ings], name."
However, if Liverpool were to fix Sturridge's injury issues, it would be like the cliched "new signing." At this point that would be a bonus, and the club cannot make the same mistake of last summer by relying on him to remain fit.
The addition of a proven striker of quality, plus Ings, Origi and Sturridge, and Liverpool's attacking options next season will be looking very strong.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
