Liverpool FC defender Jamie Carragher has stated that forward Daniel Sturridge would not play unless he’s 100% fit, while also stating that his exit rumours are ill-timed with the cup final a month away.
Joining the hot debate among the Liverpool FC fans about Sturridge’s injury problems, Carragher was quoted saying by TalkSports: “People do treat injuries differently. He is a brilliant player but there is no doubt he had to be 100 per cent fit to play.
“That’s not criticism of him, that is just a fact. It is not just Daniel, it happened sometimes with foreign players, he said. “I am not talking about them shirking but they feel if their body is not 100 per cent they are putting themselves at more risk of injury, or they are not going to perform to the level they would like to.
“That is when a player like myself or (Dietmar) Hamann (who has been particularly critical of Sturridge), more defensive players, would carry on and just do it.
“The problem is it is not a broken leg or a cruciate knee (ligament) injury; I’ll be honest, I don’t know now what the injury is at the moment.”
Exit rumours ill-timed: Carragher
Commenting on Sturridge’s exit reports, Carragher was of the opinion that the timing could not have been worse, in case the forward’s camp was behind planting the story.
He adds: “There were no quotes in there but you never know. Being on this side of the fence I know how it works at times with agents, people speaking with different people at different times.
“If there is some truth in it, it’s probably ill-advised to put that story out if it’s come through Daniel Sturridge’s camp. He’s been out for a long time and of course he’s maybe upset,” said Carragher. “If he wants to leave then that’s part of football if he is disappointed with that. I don’t think the timing for something like that is right when he’s just about to come back fit, when there’s a cup final at the end of the month.
“If he wants to go at the end of the season and he wants to see the story out. That’s not something only Daniel Sturridge has done, lots of players do that, but two or three weeks before the end of the season,” he continued. “I think the timing’s all wrong if there is some substance.”
Sturridge’s fragile personality
Carragher is not the first person to come out and state that Sturridge requires to be a 100% to play at times.
Jurgen Klopp had come out earlier in the season and stated that the English international needed to learn the difference between “what is pain and what is serious pain”.
Former manager Brendan Rodgers also displayed increased irritation with the soft attitude of the forward, dropping casual comments such as ‘Daniel needs to play’ on a regular basis.
Steven Gerrard had also revealed in his latest book that he had to talk Sturridge into playing against, of all teams, Manchester United – a game in which he scored the winning goal.
The former captain had gone on to state the same thing as Carragher, that there was a difference between players who would play only when 100% fit and ones who needed to be 100% injured to be kept off the pitch, indicating that Sturridge often needed someone to talk him into playing.
