Football
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Liverpool's Daniel Sturridge: Injury problems may be hereditary

Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge has said he believes his persistent injury problems could be hereditary as he faces several more weeks out with a calf strain.

Sturridge has not featured for club or country since suffering a thigh injury in England training at the beginning of September, and Liverpool have struggled in the his absence.

His uncles, Dean and Simon, were both professional footballers, while his father was a trainee at Birmingham, and he believes his current injury problems could be due to his genes.

"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 at which you're moving.

"I am vulnerable to muscle injuries. As long as I continue to work hard, everything will take care of itself."

In Sturridge's absence, Liverpool have relied on Mario Balotelli up front -- but the 16 million-pound summer signing has yet to score in the Premier League.

Balotelli scored as the Merseysiders beat Swansea 2-1 in the League Cup in Tuesday -- and Sturridge has backed the Italian, saying he hoped they could form a lethal pairing similar to the one he had with Luis Suarez last season.

He added: "We get on well off the field and in the changing rooms. We're always laughing and joking.

"Once I get back fit I'm hoping we can strike up a partnership. Last season with Luis [Suarez], we had a great relationship up front and scored a lot of goals. Hopefully this season it will be the same.

"He's a likeable person. I don't have any bad words to say about him. People don't realise what he's been through in his life to get where he is today."

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