Raheem Sterling Denies Feigning Sickness to Avoid Liverpool Pre-Season Training

Raheem Sterling has denied he faked illness to sit out of Liverpool's pre-season sessions before he secured a move to Manchester City.

The English winger missed training on July 8 and 9, an occurrence which came during a long-running saga in which he made it clear he wanted to leave Anfield, per Stuart Brennan of the Manchester Evening News.

However, Sterling insists he was suffering with a stomach problem and not simply trying to hide from the team-mates he would leave just a few days later.

His comments were reported by Brennan:

"

Everyone thought I threw a sicknote in. I was in training on the Tuesday—in the changing room my stomach started hurting. I still went out and trained though. That day I went home, and I told the doc I was ill. My stomach was rumbling and I had diarrhoea.

The doctor just said to me you can't be around the other players. For the next 48 hours, I stayed at home. That's what the club doctor told me to do. When that 48 hours was done I came back to training as normal.

"

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

Sterling joined City on July 14, reported by David Clayton of the club's official website. His deal is worth up to £49 million, per BBC Sport, and will see the forward come under immediate pressure to perform.

Both his momentous cost and the way he left Liverpool are likely to see Sterling targeted by opposition fans, particularly if he fails to hit the ground running when competitive football arrives.

City fans may catch a glimpse of the 20-year-old on Tuesday when the team continue their preparation for the start of the Premier League with a match against Roma in Melbourne.

He will bring directness to the side's play and could become a key contributor across the pitch after showing his willingness to work hard in a multi-functional role at Liverpool.

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

Sterling loves to isolate players and skip beyond them in a one-on-one situation. His pace is frightening, and he can move the ball quickly, but he needs to be more composed in the final third.

There's no doubt he can be content with last season's seven goals and seven assists in the Premier League, per WhoScored.com, but now the aforementioned price-tag is attached to his name, Sterling must show more.

WhoScored suggested Sterling has remained at fairly a consistent level over the last three years, but that his conversion rate remains poor:

City shouldn't have time for players who regularly fail to hit the mark. Spanish winger Jesus Navas could feel the burn after Sterling's arrival and can be expected to suffer less first-team playing time now the former Queens Park Rangers man is in tow.

He failed to score last term and provided eight assists in 35 appearances, completing 1.7 crosses per match, according to WhoScored. Sterling only fired in 0.5 successful crosses per appearance during the 2014/15 schedule.

B/R UK's Andy Brassell recently discussed whether Sterling will make an impact in Manchester:

The player will obviously try to clear his name at this point. All will be forgotten (unless you support Liverpool) if Sterling consistently scores and creates chances for his City team-mates. He can feed off players like Sergio Aguero and David Silva, two stars who should help Sterling elevate his game.

His missed training sessions become a footnote at this point, with Sterling now ready to write the first post-Liverpool chapter of his dramatic career so far.