Tuesday, 3rd December, 2013
England manager Roy Hodgson insists he will not apologise about playing Daniel Sturridge in friendlies, even as the forward battles through an ankle injury.
Sturridge played the full game against Germany last month, with his Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers later revealing he had been injured.
Sturridge is currently sidelined with an ankle injury for up to two months – though that is unrelated to the niggle he had when playing with England.
However, Hodgson denied he has any qualms for having used Sturridge, quoted on ITV.com as saying: "I suppose you could argue we did put his resolve a little bit to the test.
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"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 himself didn't feel 100 per cent.
"Because that means in future I will know I can trust him as an England player and he is not going to be playing when he feels like it – he is going to be playing when he's fit to play."
Sturridge had started Liverpool's Merseyside derby against Everton from the bench, something Rodgers attributed to the injury, while his ankle problem cropped up in training.
Following the England friendly, Rodgers revealed the initial extent of Sturridge's problem, saying: "He's had a dead leg for about three to four weeks."
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