Daniel Sturridge is facing further torment in his injury-plagued season with the Liverpool striker struggling to be fit for Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa.
The 25-year-old missed Monday’s 2-0 Premier League defeat of Newcastle United with a hip injury suffered in the quarter-final replay win at Blackburn Rovers five days earlier. He has yet to return to first-team training and has only two days to prove his fitness to the manager, Brendan Rodgers, before the Wembley date.
Missing out on the semi-final would be a severe setback to Sturridge, who had not recaptured his sharpness prior to the hip injury having been sidelined for more than five months with various thigh and calf problems.
Mario Balotelli has returned to training after missing Liverpool’s past three fixtures through illness and injury but is highly unlikely to feature in Rodgers’ starting plans for Sunday. Adam Lallana is another doubt for the semi-final having resumed only light training following a recent groin injury.
The Liverpool captain, Steven Gerrard, and the influential defender Martin Skrtel are available again, however, after serving three-match bans collected during last month’s home defeat by Manchester United. Gerrard has played only 27 minutes for Liverpool since 10 February when he sustained a hamstring problem against Tottenham Hotspur and that may influence Rodgers’ selection for the semi-final.