He comes off the bench, he scores an incredible goal and he goes off injured.
If ever a sequence of play summed up a player’s career, it was the one on Tuesday night in which Daniel Sturridge took to the pitch and put on a terrific cameo appearance.
Less than 15 minutes after he was sent on, Sturridge showed how dangerous a finisher he can be when he cleverly dinked the ball over Bayern Munich’s onrushing goalkeeper to make it 3-0 to the Reds in their Audi Cup meeting at the Allianz Arena.
But just as Liverpool supporters got their hopes up about a season of such performances from their English striker, they were reminded just how injury-prone Sturridge is.
This is Daniel Sturridge all the way around. World Class talent. Body parts made of glass. https://t.co/noPxe5rXj7
— 🏁 (@niceguysim) August 1, 2017
The 27-year-old pulled up as he wheeled away in celebration of his wonderful goal and, moments later, he was withdrawn by manager Jurgen Klopp.
At the time of writing, it’s unclear how serious the injury is but it’s an unfortunate event that encapsulated the repeated stumbling blocks that Sturridge has encountered throughout his career.
Only two weeks ago, Klopp had praised his forward for the levels of fitness he was showing in preseason training.
“It’s the best condition since I’m here,” Klopp told ESPN. “OK, I came in October 2015 and Daniel, I think, was probably injured. Last preseason was after a tournament and a short break.
“This year he has had a proper break and is in a good physical shape absolutely.”
