Daniel Sturridge
Liverpool forward Daniel Sturridge was targeting the clash against Manchester United on 12 September to make his first-team comeback Getty

Roy Hodgson has revealed that he is worried about the future of Daniel Sturridge, who has been out with an injury for over a year. The Three Lions are currently top of the group for the qualifiers of the European Championships and shall face Switzerland in an important game at Wembley to all but decide their final group position.

The striker was primed to be back for Liverpool's game against Manchester United after the international break but recent reports suggest that he will be found just short for the trip to Old Trafford. Hodgson's problem has been exacerbated by the absence of Danny Welbeck, who is expected to be unavailable for over six months after surgery on his knee.

Liverpool have moved on in their dependence on Sturridge up front, with Brendan Rodgers signing Christian Benteke from Aston Villa and Danny Ings from Burnley to provide cover in that department. The Belgian scored his first goal against Bournemouth in the second game following his debut but has drawn a blank since, which included a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of West Ham in Anfield.

Sturridge was Liverpool's star striker alongside Luis Suarez in 2013/14 and was expected to take further responsibility to overcome the void left by the Uruguayan's departure to Barcelona. However, persistent injuries kept him out of the side and Hodgson is worried that he will not be able to recover in time for the European Champions scheduled for 2016.

Harry Kane is currently going through a goalscoring drought for his club while Wayne Rooney, despite scoring a hat-trick against Club Brugge, has not been at his fluent best in the league, leading to further problems for the manager.

"Daniel is a little bit the same — it's getting on for a year now," Hodgson said on Sturridge, as quoted by the Mirror. They are always in my thoughts, because I think they're very good players and they did extremely well when they were playing in the national team I was coaching."

"But I've got to make certain that there are a few Vardys and Kanes and Walcotts and that, because we can't keep going around talking about the ones who aren't there," he added.

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