Sturridge gives Liverpool boost, declares himself ready to return

Daniel Sturridge has given Liverpool a much-needed boost by revealing he has returned to training and feels ready for first-team action.

Jurgen Klopp’s men went into Boxing Day’s clash with league leaders Leicester City with Divock Origi leading the line at Anfield.

Sturridge’s season has been blighted by injuries and his latest spell on the sidelines has been due to a hamstring problem.

Origi also suffered a hamstring injury just before the interval against Leicester, leaving Christian Benteke as Liverpool’s only match-fit recognized striker.

The Belgian once again proved his match-winning ability by netting the only goal of the game on 63 minutes – and the victory ended a four-game winless run for the Reds, who had drawn two and lost two following their demolition of Southampton at St Mary’s.

Benteke will be hoping to get the nod to start in Wednesday’s trip to Sunderland – but Sturridge could be on the bench for the visitors after claiming he is ‘good to go’.

The England striker tweeted: “Perfect gift for Christmas from the boys getting a win. On a sidenote I’m back training and good to go!!”

Klopp will be hoping for back-to-back wins when he takes on Sam Allardyce’s Black Cats, who are second bottom and five points from safety.

Liverpool are now five points behind fourth-placed Tottenham, who face a tricky trip to in-form Watford on Monday, but Klopp is not looking too far ahead with such a hectic schedule to get through.

When asked about the chase for Champions League football, he said: “You cannot believe how uninteresting this is for me at this moment.

“We don’t have to dream, there is no time, we cannot even celebrate a win.

“We cannot really feel bad after a defeat, because we don’t have time, we always have to stay up and be concentrated on the next game.

“Talk about it all you want, I’m not interested in this moment.”