Daniel Sturridge has suffered a ‘devastating’ injury blow after being ruled out for a month. Liverpool striker Sturridge was sent home from England duty with a hip injury, and scans have revealed it is worse than first feared.
Sturridge has suffered a torn hip muscle in Sunday’s loss to Manchester United. That means he could miss around four weeks – including Liverpool’s crunch clash at Arsenal, rivals for a top four finish this season, on Saturday.
It leaves Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers with a major selection headache as Sturridge will miss much of the run-in. Centre-back Martin Skrtel and captain Steven Gerrard have both been banned for three games each, while the skipper’s fellow midfielders Raheem Sterling and Adam Lallana are also nursing injuries.
Hodgson also confirmed England are likely to send Sterling home after Friday’s Euro 2016 qualifier against Lithuania. The 20-year-old winger is nursing a toe injury. Manchester City midfielder James Milner is another in line to go back to his club and not make the light to Italy.
England are likely to call up Southampton left-back Ryan Bertrand for the Turin trip as Everton counterpart Leighton Baines is also nursing a knock.
(With agency inputs)