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Yesterday, Daniel Sturridge was a doubt to face Lithuania in England’s Euros 2016 qualifier on Friday and Italy next week in a friendly. Today, the English national team has officially released him from his international duties and he has returned to Liverpool to undergo tests on his hip.
Sturridge reportedly complained of discomfort in it late on against Manchester City on Sunday, and after examining the striker, the national team doctors believed he wouldn’t be fit enough to play over the next week. The extent of the injury is as yet unknown, but Sturridge will now undergo a series of tests by club doctors.
At this stage, though, the striker has to be considered a doubt for Liverpool’s next match, at the Emirates against Arsenal on April 4th. Sturridge has already missed 24 club games over nearly 100 days in the 2014-15 season with a thigh muscle strain and then a related hamstring injury. This latest injury is not believed to be related.
With Sturridge gone, it makes it more likely Tottenham’s Harry Kane will see senior international action for the first time on Friday. It also means that, with Adam Lallana also out injured, only Jordan Henderson and Raheem Sterling will be available to represent Liverpool on the England squad this month.
