I played injured Liverpool star Sturridge in Germany game to test him, admits Hodgson
[article]Roy Hodgson has admitted he pushed injured Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge to face Germany last month to ‘test his resolve’.
Sturridge, who will be out for eight weeks after damaging ligaments in his left ankle while training last Friday, was already struggling with a thigh injury during last month’s international get-together.
But in a surprise admission, Hodgson admitted he pressured Sturridge to play in the 1-0 loss to Germany at Wembley on November 19 after he had missed the friendly with Chile the previous Friday through injury.
The England manager said: ‘Dan has pulled out of a few matches with us for injury reasons. The first game he played for me against the Republic of Ireland he got injured. It was important for me to, if you like, test his resolve a little bit.
‘I might have been guilty of putting that resolve to the test but I don’t apologise for it.
‘And I am delighted he did get out there, even though he maybe didn’t feel 100 per cent, because that means in future I will know I can trust him as an England player. He is not going to be playing when he feels like it, he is going to be playing when he’s fit to play.’
Reacting to the news that Sturridge will be out for up to two months, Hodgson added: ‘I’d rather the players got injured now. We only played him because medical opinion told us. He had scans and there was nothing on them. I believe the injury that kept him out this last weekend was nothing to do with the initial injury he was complaining about after playing for Liverpool.
‘We wanted him out there and I think he wanted to play as well so it was important.
‘Daniel has burst on to the scene. We think he will be an interesting player but I don’t have that many months to sort that out.’
Before the clash with Germany, Sturridge had admitted that his thigh injury had been troubling him since the start of the season.
He returned to Liverpool after the Germany game but was named substitute against Everton for the Merseyside derby the following Saturday.
At the time, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said: ‘I was not overly surprised he played 90 minutes.
‘But it’s not ideal if you haven’t trained. When you see Daniel — and I have worked with him for a number of months — I know when he’s at his best. That’s when he has been training regularly and playing games.
‘Sometimes managers are led by players. Sometimes they want to play 90 minutes and that is something we will consider.’
[/article]
[article]Roy Hodgson has admitted he pushed injured Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge to face Germany last month to ‘test his resolve’.
Sturridge, who will be out for eight weeks after damaging ligaments in his left ankle while training last Friday, was already struggling with a thigh injury during last month’s international get-together.
But in a surprise admission, Hodgson admitted he pressured Sturridge to play in the 1-0 loss to Germany at Wembley on November 19 after he had missed the friendly with Chile the previous Friday through injury.
The England manager said: ‘Dan has pulled out of a few matches with us for injury reasons. The first game he played for me against the Republic of Ireland he got injured. It was important for me to, if you like, test his resolve a little bit.
‘I might have been guilty of putting that resolve to the test but I don’t apologise for it.
‘And I am delighted he did get out there, even though he maybe didn’t feel 100 per cent, because that means in future I will know I can trust him as an England player. He is not going to be playing when he feels like it, he is going to be playing when he’s fit to play.’
Reacting to the news that Sturridge will be out for up to two months, Hodgson added: ‘I’d rather the players got injured now. We only played him because medical opinion told us. He had scans and there was nothing on them. I believe the injury that kept him out this last weekend was nothing to do with the initial injury he was complaining about after playing for Liverpool.
‘We wanted him out there and I think he wanted to play as well so it was important.
‘Daniel has burst on to the scene. We think he will be an interesting player but I don’t have that many months to sort that out.’
Before the clash with Germany, Sturridge had admitted that his thigh injury had been troubling him since the start of the season.
He returned to Liverpool after the Germany game but was named substitute against Everton for the Merseyside derby the following Saturday.
At the time, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said: ‘I was not overly surprised he played 90 minutes.
‘But it’s not ideal if you haven’t trained. When you see Daniel — and I have worked with him for a number of months — I know when he’s at his best. That’s when he has been training regularly and playing games.
‘Sometimes managers are led by players. Sometimes they want to play 90 minutes and that is something we will consider.’
[/article]
