Sturridge And Can Need A Visit From The Injury Fairy

Injuries. They’re inevitable. A menace on the beautiful game. A knock here, a tear there. A twist of the ankle, the knee, the shoulder. Something, somewhere pops or clicks. Sharp pain, dull pain. It happens all the time, and to some more than most, unfortunately. Daniel Sturridge, for instance, has been injured a record one million times since joining Liverpool. And even Emre Can has recently developed a worrying ability to take a few games off for injury. But, recovery comes along at some point. And there’s positivity on the horizon.

During today’s pre-Everton press conference, manager Jürgen Klopp shed a small light on the possibility of seeing Sturridge and Can feature at some point in the derby.

Sturridge has been dealing with a calf injury for some time now, but the manager appeared optimistic that the England striker might be fit enough for the bench.

“It’s still a maybe,” said Klopp. “I can’t say anything different. He’s closer to team training, maybe we can involve him today.

“If he can’t be at 100%, having Danny for twenty minutes will be fantastic. If he’s available, he’ll be involved.”

Emre Can is the player most likely to return to action against Everton. The German midfielder picked up an injury on the training ground after smacking into Divock Origi.

“Emre is in a pretty good way,” Klopp said. “Strange injury, I’ve never heard of this ligament.

“He felt no pain yesterday. If ready to train today or tomorrow he will be involved.”

Joël Matip, however, might be watching on from the stands for another match. An ankle problem has meant that the Liverpool defender could not even sprint at the beginning of the week. No decision has been made yet on his inclusion, though, so I think everyone should do their good luck rituals and send their healing-with-vibes thoughts now and get this thing resolved. Thanks, in advance.

With the long-term absences of so many players, having Daniel Sturridge and Emre Can and Joël Matip returning to the squad as soon as possible will be crucial for the team to sustain their momentum through the compact holiday schedule. Rotation will be key during this time to maintain fitness and allay the danger of more widespread injury issues in the squad.