Football
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Luis Suarez ready for England clash

Luis Suarez was in confident mood ahead of Uruguay's World Cup clash against England after taking part in training on Tuesday.

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Suarez picked up a knee injury last month which kept him sidelined for his nation's 3-1 defeat to Costa Rica on Saturday.

However, he returned to full training on Monday, and after taking part in a light session led by coach Oscar Tabarez a day later, he is ready to return to action for the crucial Group D showdown on Thursday.

"It's been a hard couple of days because of the defeat to Costa Rica,'' the Liverpool striker said in a video message on 888poker.com.

"I want to thank you for all the support we received these [last few] days and to tell you to stay calm, we're going to give our best against England.

"And trust us, we're the first who want to move forward.''

Meanwhile, England midfielder Frank Lampard believes there is no easy way to stop Suarez, but has backed his teammates to keep him quiet on Thursday.

"He is a fantastic player,'' he said. "He was the best player in the Premier League last year, quite rightly voted for by the other players.

"We know that, it's as simple as that. There isn't some fantastic way of keeping him quiet. All you can do is try to prepare right, defend well individually and as a team, and do as well as you can.

"Some players at that top, top level can come up with something off the cuff, which you can't call. But, at the same time, we've got some top-class defenders in our team that can try and stop that.''

Raheem Sterling knows Suarez well from Liverpool, but he is also hopeful that England's defence will be able to stop the striker.

"I'd rather not see him on the pitch, really,'' Sterling said. "He is a great player, but I don't think we really need to talk too much of his qualities because we all know what he can do.

"All the lads that have played against him know what he is about. We know he has scored some spectacular goals and we will do our best to keep him at bay."

Information from the Press Association was used in this report

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