Daniel Sturridge believes his persistent injury problems could be hereditary after admitting his speed makes him vulnerable to breaking down.
The Liverpool striker has not played since being injured while on England duty at the start of September having suffered with thigh and calf problems. Sturridge, whose uncles Dean and Simon were both professionals, believes that could be a result of his Caribbean background.
“I play my game as best I can, but I’ve been unfortunate this season,” he told talkSPORT.
“Maybe it’s my body type, maybe it’s hereditary. Both my uncles had injuries, and my dad had them as well. Maybe it’s the Caribbean vibes, maybe I have speed but maybe it makes you more vulnerable because of the fast twitch muscles and the speed in which you’re moving.
“I am vulnerable to muscle injuries. As long as I continue to work hard everything will take care of itself.”
Sturridge is not expected to feature for Liverpool until at least the Premier League meeting with Chelsea on 8 November. But after seeing Mario Balotelli end his own goal drought in the 2-1 win over Swansea in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday, he is hoping to form a successful partnership with the Italian on his return.
“We get on well off the field and in the changing rooms,” Sturridge said.
“We’re always laughing and joking. It’s not hugely important to be friends to have a great [football] relationship with somebody, and if you’re not friends you can still have a great partnership, but you can also be friends and have a great partnership.
“Once I get back fit I’m hoping we can strike up a partnership. Last season with Luis [Suárez] we had a great relationship up front and scored a lot of goals. Hopefully this season it will be the same.”
Balotelli developed a reputation as a larger than life character during his two-and-a-half-year spell with Manchester City but Sturridge says he is “misunderstood” and launched a robust defence of the 24-year-old.
“Mario has been under the microscope,” he added. “That will always be the case when you play for a big club. You are going to have a lot of eyes on you.
“Mario’s a great guy and he’s misunderstood sometimes. A lot of people are harsh on him. I get on really with him, though. I have nothing but good words to say about him.
“He’s working hard on the training field. People have told me he’s working tirelessly to play the way we play.
“It’s difficult moving to a new club and having new team-mates, it doesn’t [always]just click straight away.
“Everybody is helping him and he’s playing well. Sometimes you don’t get the breaks in terms of scoring goals. Every striker goes through times when they don’t score.
“A lot of stories have been put out about him in the past which aren’t true. For him, it’s difficult to shake off the celebrity [tag].
“He’s a likeable person. People don’t realise what he’s been through in his life to get where he is today.”
The Liverpool striker has not played since being injured while on England duty at the start of September having suffered with thigh and calf problems. Sturridge, whose uncles Dean and Simon were both professionals, believes that could be a result of his Caribbean background.
“I play my game as best I can, but I’ve been unfortunate this season,” he told talkSPORT.
“Maybe it’s my body type, maybe it’s hereditary. Both my uncles had injuries, and my dad had them as well. Maybe it’s the Caribbean vibes, maybe I have speed but maybe it makes you more vulnerable because of the fast twitch muscles and the speed in which you’re moving.
“I am vulnerable to muscle injuries. As long as I continue to work hard everything will take care of itself.”
Sturridge is not expected to feature for Liverpool until at least the Premier League meeting with Chelsea on 8 November. But after seeing Mario Balotelli end his own goal drought in the 2-1 win over Swansea in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday, he is hoping to form a successful partnership with the Italian on his return.
“We get on well off the field and in the changing rooms,” Sturridge said.
“We’re always laughing and joking. It’s not hugely important to be friends to have a great [football] relationship with somebody, and if you’re not friends you can still have a great partnership, but you can also be friends and have a great partnership.
“Once I get back fit I’m hoping we can strike up a partnership. Last season with Luis [Suárez] we had a great relationship up front and scored a lot of goals. Hopefully this season it will be the same.”
Balotelli developed a reputation as a larger than life character during his two-and-a-half-year spell with Manchester City but Sturridge says he is “misunderstood” and launched a robust defence of the 24-year-old.
“Mario has been under the microscope,” he added. “That will always be the case when you play for a big club. You are going to have a lot of eyes on you.
“Mario’s a great guy and he’s misunderstood sometimes. A lot of people are harsh on him. I get on really with him, though. I have nothing but good words to say about him.
“He’s working hard on the training field. People have told me he’s working tirelessly to play the way we play.
“It’s difficult moving to a new club and having new team-mates, it doesn’t [always]just click straight away.
“Everybody is helping him and he’s playing well. Sometimes you don’t get the breaks in terms of scoring goals. Every striker goes through times when they don’t score.
“A lot of stories have been put out about him in the past which aren’t true. For him, it’s difficult to shake off the celebrity [tag].
“He’s a likeable person. People don’t realise what he’s been through in his life to get where he is today.”
