Daniel Sturridge in Contention to Face Manchester City

There was hope over the summer that the surgery Daniel Sturridge had undergone and that saw him sidelined for nearly six months recovering had finally gotten to the root of his injury issues. Issues that have seen the unquestionably talented striker miss as many games as he's played since arriving at Liverpool.

So far, that hasn't been the case. He returned to action on September 19th and, after being eased back into the action, fell injured again on October 16th. All told, Sturridge has been injured for nearly 400 days and missed 67 matches since moving to Anfield. By comparison, Sturridge has made 69 appearances for the club across all competitions.

It's an atrocious, disheartening injury record. But the good news is that, yet again, he's returned to full training. It's even ahead of schedule, as there was little expectation the striker would be in contention to face Manchester City on Saturday and now, according to multiple reports from journalists with ties to the club, he could be in line to start.

Liverpool were handed an injury boost yesterday when Jordon Ibe and James Milner returned to full training with their teammates, and even then, though Sturridge was training on his own, there was little expectation the striker would be in contention to face City. A day later, and now Sturridge is also back in full training with his teammates.

At the very least it means he should be able to be on the bench on Saturday. Of course, given Sturridge's injury record, the question perhaps should be less about whether he's fit to face City this weekend than if he's still fit when it comes time to play Swansea a week later or Watford next month. Most fans will, unfortunately, have their doubts.