“I believe I’m the best striker Liverpool has…”
Whatever you think of Daniel Sturridge, he scores some goals and he does it pretty often.
Whenever he’s not injured, of course.
But the England international (whenever he’s not injured) has claimed that he is NOT injury prone and that, in fact, he has battled through “many injuries”.
In an interview with Sky Sports, the Liverpool striker (whenever he’s not injured) denied that he was, you know, prone to a bit of injury. Despite his history showing that he seems to be, in fact, prone to a bit of injury.
Graphic of every #Daniel #Sturridge's #injury pic.twitter.com/Dx0ShA82ju
— A (@arnieee4) February 8, 2016
That was last year’s graphic.
Since then, Sturridge has upset many fans of his striking abilities with a few no-shows:
He missed an England friendly in May ahead of the Euros and had to watch Rashford light it up.
https://twitter.com/vivadasilvas/status/736269564850393088
Just before the new season started…
Minor injury & Sturridge 💏#LFCvBarca
— RoadTripMoments® (@RoadTripMoments) August 6, 2016
Had to come off against Sunderland.
https://twitter.com/yaniu8/status/815959979081355264
He couldn’t even hit a bloody penalty in a cup final.
JK: "There was no chance [for a Sturridge penalty] he had cramps. Everyone who was available took one." #LFC
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) February 28, 2016
But he’s adamant that he’s not an injury prone player and, when pushed on it by Sky Sports, he pushed back.
“Define ‘injury prone’,” he asked. With a straight face.
“I’ve played many games for Liverpool Football Club. Last season, I played a lot of games for the club. I finished top scorer in all competitions for the club last season. Regardless of the number of games I play, I still do my best on the pitch.
“That’s what’s important. It’s not about whether you’re injured or not, it’s about doing your best on the pitch.
“Every player wants to play in every game but there are times when you’re not fit and it’s about how you bounce back from that.
“I’ve played on injuries before, I’ve played on many injuries before – knocks, tears, everything. It’s about pushing yourself to the limits for the club and I feel I’ve done that.”
He says that but history says differently.
- In 2015/16, Sturridge started 11 games in the league and came on as a sub 3 times.
- He featured in 8 Europa League clashes.
- In 2014/15, he started 7 games in the league and came on as a sub 5 times.
- He featured in 2 Europa League clashes.
This season, he’s featured more times as a sub than he has as a striker and that frustrates him because it ruins his strike rate.
“I judge myself, personally, on when I’m starting games more than when I’m coming off the bench,” he said.
“It’s a hard task for any player – whether they’re at the end of their career, the middle of their career, or when they’re young players – it’s always difficult to come on and have an impact.
“You do your best when you come off the bench but I feel like when you’re starting games is when you can judge yourself and critique yourself more.
“But at the end of the season, when you look at your appearances, it just says starts and subs.”
Watch the clip below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BIoEphZXSk
Via LFC Raffaello.
