Friday 1 May 2015 12:04, UK
Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge has flown to the USA for treatment on his injured hip, manager Brendan Rodgers has confirmed.
The 25-year-old is in America to see Dr Peter Asnis, an orthopaedic surgeon linked to club owners Fenway Sports Group's other sports interest, the Boston Red Sox.
This is the second time Sturridge has flown across the Atlantic for treatment this season, after he spent a month there in December to undergo rehabilitation for a thigh problem which, combined with a calf injury, kept him out of action for five months.
Sturridge has therefore been limited to just 18 appearances this season and has scored only five goals this campaign as a result.
With Liverpool also struggling for goals since Luis Suarez left to join Barcelona in the summer, Rodgers is keen to get Sturridge back and firing again for next season.
The 25-year-old will therefore miss the final four games of the current campaign to ensure that is the case.
"I think we have found some underlying issues that maybe relate to Daniel's issues and problems this season and the ongoing problems he's had,” Rodgers said at his press conference ahead of their Premier League game with QPR on Saturday.
“The medical team here, liaising with some of the medics in America, are doing everything we possibly can to give Daniel every opportunity to stay consistently fit and available.”
Asked whether part of Sturridge's problems were mental, Rodgers added: "I'm not sure. Daniel is like every other player - he wants to play and be available.
"It is just unfortunate for him. If you look at his career he's had little issues along the way but when we brought him here we knew we wanted to give him every chance to be one of the top goalscorers in Europe.
"We have to do everything we can to get him on the training field and into the game, hence the reason for looking into the issue."
Meanwhile, Rodgers confirmed defender Jon Flanagan will be out for six to nine months as he requires another knee operation.
"He has fought back having been out for a period of time but the issue that he's had, if he didn't have the operation it was only going to delay it," said Rodgers.
"Jon is a really strong character. He trained for a few days last week and looked absolutely brilliant.
"I was asking the medics if it was something that he definitely needed. But for him and his career, he definitely needed the operation and now he's had that and it will be over the course of the next six to nine months now.
"Hopefully we can get him back fit and stronger than ever because he's a really, really important player for us."
