Daniel Sturridge has insisted that he is happy at Liverpool and has said those who have questioned his desire to play for the club have shown him “the biggest disrespect”.
Sturridge’s future at Anfield has been cast into doubt in recent months. Speculation claimed that he was not happy with suggestions that he was exaggerating his injuries.
He was unfairly accused on Twitter of being happy to pick up his wages in the treatment room and not wanting to play – something Sturridge describes as “astonishing”.
The England striker has recently come back from his latest injury layoff, scoring in our 6-0 win over Aston Villa, and is intent on focusing on a healthy future at Liverpool.
“I am looking forward to the future at Liverpool. I am happy here,” Sturridge said at a press conference before Liverpool’s Europa League clash with Augsburg, according to Sky Sports.
“I’ve always had my family, friends and Liverpool with me. I am happy to be playing and that’s all that matters. I think it’s important to worry about the present. It’s been a difficult time being injured but it is part of football and now I’m looking forward to the future, of course with Liverpool.
“There’s not much to worry or stress about. I’m happy here. I don’t listen to social media.
“To say a player doesn’t want to play is the biggest disrespect you can say to any footballer. Nobody knows how much it means to me to play football. I will continue to do my best and focus on playing for Liverpool.
“I think it is astonishing, disappointing – whoever is saying it – but that’s football and people are entitled to their opinions. I would probably say a lot of the things people say about me aren’t true.”
Keeping him fit and motivated is our best chance of having a top-class striker in our ranks without the attraction of Champions League football, so Sturridge’s commitment is encouraging.
The 26-year-old started back-to-back games for the first time in 11 months and came through unscathed as he played over an hour of our first-leg stalemate with Augsburg in Germany.
Jurgen Klopp would still be wise to be careful with his workload. He could be rested for tomorrow’s return fixture and saved for Sunday’s Capital One Cup final versus Manchester City.
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